Being Tall Isn't Everything
by P.A.W.07
Summary: Zim is about to destroy the world and his dieing adversary lies there … yet he doesn't kill Dib. He wants to use that cunningly huge head of his especially now that they are both so tall. No pairings.
1. Irkens Don’t Dream

Being Tall Isn't Everything summery: Zim is about to destroy the world and his dieing adversary lies there … yet he doesn't kill Dib. He wants to use that cunning huge head of his, especially now that they are both so tall.

Disclaimer: I respect JV too much to even attempt such a horrible thing like claming Zim's mine. But I wish he was … oh, how I wish.

Chapter One: Irkens Don't Dream.

XXX

Zim took a step back as the red stuff seeped closer to his boot. The tall Irken's attention turned away from the blood that was pooling from the tall human teenager, which laid there whimpering on his lab floor with some more of the disgusting red goo dripping out of his mouth. The Irken didn't smile at this though. In fact, he seemed more disappointed.

"I thought you'd put up more of a fight, earth-monkey? I wanted our last battle to be … worth remembrance. I wanted the memory of it to last for the rest of my life … you disappoint me, " said Zim as he ran one of his clawed hands over his antenna, a loud bang suddenly echoing through the bowels of the base, shaking the very walls. "It seems that the invasion has started. The filthy humans are finally getting what they deserve."

More blood seeped from the poor human's death scene and his scythe-like haircut wobbled as he tried to look up at the tall alien.

"Why?" the human choked. "We both know that Tallest considered you a joke," the human took another gasping breath and continued, "Why would they finally decide to conquer earth?"

The tall Irken knelt down so the human could look him in the eye. "You can only blame yourself for that Dib-human ... remember when you stuffed various foods down my throat during that one time you captured me to see which were poisonous? Well, one of those foods was human chocolate. I sent some to the Tallest and they were very … happy." A grin pulled at the corners of Zim's mouth as he pulled the dieing human's chin into his clawed hand. "Thanks for the idea, Dib. The planet will soon be covered in sugar cane and cocoa beans. The Tallest loved chocolate so much so that they decided that they'd bring the Armada right over and destroy all life on earth so they cover the entire planet in such plants and have all the sweets they could possibly want. Thus, getting me off this miserable rock. I've been here eight years! Eight years, Dib-stink … true, the hormones that humans put in all their nasty foods, which I was forced to eat thanks to you, have made me rather tall, but I can take this no more. It was fun Dib … but I have bigger plans now that I'm tall."

The Irken dropped the other's head when the screen beeped; Zim was being hailed. The tall Irken tried not to grin too much as Tallest Red and Purple stared at him.

"Good, job Zim," said the Tallest Red. "It seems Earth was worth something after all."

"Thank you, my Tallest. I am glad you are pleased. Soon, I'll be coming up to the Massive and to have the honor of firing the first shot squishing out all the grimy life on this filthy planet. Oh, I can't wait!"

Purple and Red stared at each other for a moment and then back at the fellow Irken. "Um, no Zim."

The Irken looked at them confused allowing his antennae to fall back. "We're not squishing out all life?"

Red waved his claw in dismissal. "No, no, Zim we are squishing out all life, but you won't be doing the squishing … in fact, you will be one of the beings we're squishing out."

Zim raised an antenna still not getting it.

Red sighed, "Listen very closely, Zim … you're an idiot, and we don't like you. Your transmissions were entertaining for a time. But there's no way we're going to allow you back onto Planet Irk so you can try to kill everyone again. So we decided to squish you instead."

"But I'm an Invader!" Pleaded the Irken, "I proven my worth … I –"

"No … you're not an invader Zim. You're a food drone. Your mission was a lie so we could get rid of you. True, you did your fake job, but now with you being so tall … well, it's stupid to allow you to live."

"Bye Zim, enjoy being squished," called Purple and the screen went dark. Zim just stood there a moment his knees wobbling, and then he fell to the floor, pulling his head into his hands. Soon small squealing noises filled the room that could be defined as nothing more than crying. The Irken seemed to remain there forever until something grazed his foot. The Irken opened his eyes slightly … Dib had crawled forward with his elbows leaving a trail of blood, a river of blood.

"Dib … beast?" whimpered the Irken uncharacteristically as his antennae rose slightly in confusion. "It seems you were right about me being a defect … and that you would win. You win, Dib … I loose."

Dib's glasses hanged on his nose, and he stared upward. Blood leaked out of the side of his mouth as he struggled to speak. He was dying, and there was no denying it. It was only a matter of time until one of them lost anyway … Dib hadn't expected that they'd both loose though. Either way, Zim had proven himself to be a good opponent and didn't deserve to be degraded like that. True, the Irken had done this to him, but Dib would rather die with his earth then be enslaved anyway.

"That's not the egotistically Zim I've known for some many years," said the human, struggling for a breath before he continued. "You're not the real Zim … Zim would never give up."

The Irken slowly pulled his head upwards and stared at Dib. He gazed at him with out a sign of emotion on this face, and then all of a sudden the Irken had stumbled to his feet with that glint of determination returning to his eyes. "Gir!"

The little robot flew down stairs, his eyes red. The little machine turned his attention to his master, but not before catching the sight of Dib, his eye twitched slightly, but he said nothing of his opinions. "Yes sir!"

"Pack the larger cruiser, we're leaving. Re-shrink as many machines as you can, because we're going to need all that we can carry since we won't be getting anything from the Tallest anymore."

The robot saluted and flew off. The sound of screeching metal soon followed. The Irken watched for a moment, and then turned his attention back to the dying human. There was a frown on his face now.

"Dib," said the Irken softly. "Thank you. I can't believe that I was so willing to give up. I must say this, Dib … you were always a deserving opponent. You are a good soldier. If you had been an Irken you would have been one of the best, maybe even a Tallest one day."

Dib merely choked on his blood, but tried to smile. Zim was his worst enemy and best friend combined. True, he was as good as dead, but at least he wasn't dying alone. That was his last comforting thought before the world went dark.

Zim's antennae twitched with distress and the human passed out from blood loss … and then the words the Irken had just muttered returned to him and Zim stood up facing his computer. "Computer!"

"Yes." It sighed.

"I need you to do one last thing …

XXX

"Dib …"

"Dib …"

"Dib …"

"Blue, wake up!"

A pair of huge blue eyes sprang open, and he jumped as he stared back into a pair of red orbs as dark as blood.

"Zim?" asked the blue Tallest questionably as his dream started to fade. Was it him or did Zim just call him … Dib? "What did you just call me, Zim?"

The other Tallest pulled away from his co-ruler and swallowed … _Oops. He let his tongue slip again. _

"Nothing Blue, you were whimpering in your sleep mode." The other Tallest leaned in close making sure that the advisers couldn't overhear. "You weren't having dreams again were you?"

Blue's eyes widened with horror, and he quickly stood up, hovering a little above his co-leader whom was standing on his feet. Irken's did not dream; to dream was considered a defect. He was not broken and even if he were Blue would never tell anyone about the dreams, never. Besides what did it matter, dreams were just meaningless figments … figments that he always seemed to forget afterward when he woke up.

"No … Irken's don't dream, Zim," whispered the hovering being. "Now what planet are we eradicating today?"

Zim was silent as he stared at his co-leader, and then he threw his head back laughing with excitement. Blue tried not to roll his eyes; Zim enjoyed his job too much … yet Blue did not. True, he was the brains and came up with stunning ideas and new technology which conquered enemies that the last Tallest hadn't even come close to dominating, yet he still did it. Did he do it for Zim who seemed to be the mouth and the pride and the whole thing? Personally, Blue felt that he should stop Zim, laugh at him, or at least call him space-boy, but he never gave into his urges. They were just figments, like his dreams.

The Irken bit his tongue slightly … Blue knew he mustn't think like that. Last time he mentioned such thoughts to Zim the other Tallest dropped all this snacks, stopped the invasion of planet Mittoop halfway through and dragged him to the med-room. Blue was in no mood for all that prodding and poking by Zim again, his pak ached for a month afterwards. In truth, he was kind of surprised he wasn't dead. Zim had a knack for breaking things and Blue was rather sure that if he weren't around their whole civilization would fall apart.

Zim raised an eye in question as he waited for Blue's reaction … Blue was hiding something. He did that same hand twitching thing the Dib did when he was hiding something. Zim wasn't in the mood to pry though. He'd bother his counterpart later; right now it was time to destroy the planet.

"Fire the doom gunny things of DOOM!" hissed the tall Irken with a screech of joy, and the planet below lost its blue glint as it slowly turned a grotesque gray as the laser struck the ground.

Blue merely watched with a sad look in his dewy blue eyes. Every single time they destroyed a blue planet he'd feel sad … yet he had no idea why.

XXX

Paw07: Really short beginning to see if anyone likes the idea. Like it; tell me and I'll continue. This is sort of an introduction … and don't worry Gaz and some of our favorite characters will be making an appearance … I don't know about pairings though. I'll decide later in the story if I make any at all.

RVS: 4/09


	2. I Used to Have Fingers

Chapter 2: I Use to Have Fingers

XXX

Dib couldn't recall where he was, or anything for that matter, except the color red. It dance behind his eyes and bit at his limbs in a mocking fashion. It lolled around in his ears as if it were the sea itself, and it nipped at his lips filling him with a dehydrated feeling even though the redness was suppose to be a liquid. Yet, despite all this, it was warm … so very warm … like the blood oozing from his side where one of Zim's spider legs had stabbed him while they were fighting. Wait … oh god. He lost that fight and was bleeding to death … and the earth. No … no!

Dib's hand instinctively shot to his side expecting to feel the warmth ooze between his fingers. Instead, he was met with a jolt of pain as his fingers traced over the bandage. In instinct, the boy arched his back only to slam the back of his head onto something metal. A hiss escaped Dib, and he slowly opened his eyes. Where was he? Why was he alive for that matter? The world that met him was blurry and rather undetailed. It took the human a moment to realize that he hadn't gone blind or anything; someone must have had the courtesy to remove his glasses so he wouldn't break them in his slumber. Dib blinked once more … from what he could tell he was in a small dark area. He could slightly hear the hum of engines behind him … was he in his father's labs?

The human's hope of being in his father's lab was quickly destroyed. Why would he be in his father's lab when the world had been destroyed? The boy would have broken down right there in a fit of tears, but he wasn't certain of the world's fate. All he remembered was whispering something to Zim and then the world going dark. He'd be dead right now if Zim had won, right? Dib sighed in relief at that thought. Yes, he'd be dead if Zim had won.

That thought calmed the human's mind as he tried to sit up and look for his glasses. The problem was that a stifle scream escaped him as he tired to do so. Dib closed his eyes and hissed in pain as he grabbed at the wound in his side. He couldn't help but hear the squeak of a chair, and the panicked movement of feet heading his way. The human soon felt a shadow fall over his form when the footsteps stopped, and then the person leaned next to him, placing a hand over his trying to loosen Dib's tight grip on his wound.

"Let go you fool," hissed the voice and Dib complied … he knew that voice. Was it one of dad's research assistants? Was he really in dad's lab? "Fool! Look what you've done! You've opened your wound." Dib whimpered as he felt a cold-gloved hand wriggled under his shirt and tighten the bandage. "I would re-suture them, but I don't see the point when the 'gift' I gave you will be kicking in momentarily."

"Gift?" The boy whispered as he tried to see who was sitting next to him. Damn. Where were his glasses?

A small chuckle escaped the form next to him. "Yes, a wonderful gift Dib-human. It may hurt at first, but you'll thank me when it's through."

"Hurt? Like in shots and stitches?" Dib grabbed at his throat … god. He was parched. "Um, could I have some water and maybe my glasses, so I can see more then just blurs."

The blur stared at him for a moment, in silence, before tensely stating, "I don't think water would be the best thing for you right now." The figure then continued to stare at Dib for a moment as if observing him. It was as if he was entranced by something, and then he stated coldly, "No … defiantly not."

"Okay … but can I have my glasses."

"Inferior human eyes. I'll be glad when you'll be rid of them," mumbled the figure before he wandered off, and then there was the distinct sound of him shifting items. Dib could only raise an eyebrow at what the person was mumbling. How could he get rid of his eyes? Maybe whoever saved him had hit their head in the process?

The human shifted slightly, trying to dull the pain in his body, no. It was more like his whole form was one fire. Did he have a fever?

"What do you mean 'be rid of them'? Who are you by the way, and where am I? You're not like a homicidal maniac rat person who murders people and collects their eyes, are you?" The teenager swallowed as he asked the next question receiving nothing for the first. "How did we stop the invasion?"

The shifting sound halted immediately, and Dib could feel the figure's eyes barring down on him. A small snicker quickly followed as well as the sound of shifting objects, again. "So many questions Dib … you know that part of you always intrigued me. How a human could be so intelligent. You found it fit to remind me almost every day how knowledge seeking you were … are. Glad, I decided to keep you."

"Keep me?" whispered Dib nervously. Okay, something was seriously wrong here. He could feel the hairs creeping up the side of his arms. God! He wanted his glasses! He needed his glasses, and what was this tight squeezing in his chest? It was as if the air was heavy. Damn, he felt cold now.

"Yes … keep you. Never did I notice how valuable you were to Zi-, I mean me." The hands had once again stopped in their searching, completely intrigued with the conversation.

"Keep me?" Keep him from what? _The destruction of the world, perhaps?_ Answered Dib's mind in a rather matter-o-factly-tone. "No! Wait. You never answered my earlier question. What happened to Earth!"

There was only silence from the other being and that was all the answer the human needed. "Oh god, no! This is a spaceship isn't it! Who are you? Tell me what happened to earth! NOW!"

A soft sigh escaped the tall being as he started walking towards Dib. His footsteps echoed softly in the packed room, yet they were not as heavy as a person of that height steps should have been. They were too light and well placed. Slowly, the being leaned down next to the panicking human, wiping a stray hair out of Dib's face. The being had something in his hands and Dib was sure that he held his glasses in hand. The human quickly threw a shaking hand outward trying to grab the frail item, but the other was too fast, leaving Dib's fingers to grace the air.

"Now, now. Be patient worm- I mean Dib. I'm going to give you your glasses, but I want to ask you if you're sure you want them. You don't look so … what's the word … pretty right now. Humans are always so shifty about their beauty. I personally found them all disgusting!" hissed the being until he noticed the confusion on Dib's face and continued in a softer tone. "But it's just for now. Wait with the glasses … you won't need them soon enough."

Wait? WHAT! Oh, god! He had been disfigured hadn't he? Oh, god! Oh, god! The human practically clawed the other's arm off. "Give me the glasses. GIVE THEM TO ME!"

The figure sighed, "Fine, it looks bad now, but soon you'll be thanking me Dib-worm."

Dib's hands shook as if he was coming off a fix. The hand was so cold, which he had taken is glasses from, but, at the moment, he could have cared less about who had saved him. How was he deformed? Was it his face? Was he burned over a large portion of his body? Had he been made into a cyborg? Was he missing a limb? Was he forever crippled? What was wrong with him!

Slowly, the world came into vision and Dib felt his face flush with rage as he met the other's face.

"ZIM," he seethed as he glanced around the small storage area of the ship, "You bastard! What have you done to Earth? I'm going to kill you mother fucking bastard! I'm going to kill you!"

Despite the weakness that seemed to own his body earlier, the human found himself strangling the other. He was going to kill Zim with his own two hands. He was going to choke the life out of him and enjoy every moment of it. He was going to take these hands and dip them in the blood that … that …

Dib suddenly let go of Zim's neck and the being coughed once or twice, but didn't collapse to the metallic floor panting. It was times like these that Zim was glad he had a pak. The Irken's eyes flashed in a rage, but his anger drained into nothingness and somehow he resisted the urge to drag his claws down the other's face as punishment after he had looked into Dib's eyes. The human wasn't even looking at him. He was staring at his hands with a look of pure horror on his face. The Irken stared at the other's hands for a moment. They were coming along nicely and faster than most pieces. The skin had lost its warm peach glow and was now a sickly pale white, green veins scarcely shone under the skin. Then there were the two end digits on each hand. The pinkies were both completely black and both ring fingers were turning a dark grey as life was stolen from then as well. The blood had stopped circulating in the unnecessary digits days ago, trying to decay off the offending fingers as quickly as possible. The remaining fingers were already showing their Irken pride as well … three sets of perfect black claws.

Dib was still staring in shock, unable to comprehend perhaps, but Zim promised that he'd be patient. He had promised that he would be patient, because he planned for him and Dib to be together for a long time. The Irken slowly cupped one of hands over Dib's, allowing the human to watch as he matched their hands up perfectly. It was an unspoken way of telling Dib the news. "See … it won't be long now Dib. There won't be a trace of that filthy human DNA in you soon enough."

Dib's eyes were so wide it was as if Zim was looking into the void of space. The human seemed lost for words and then before Zim could properly react, Dib had pushed him away and was ripping into his hands with his newfound claws. "What have you done to my hands! My fingers! Why can't I feel me fingers! My hands!"

_XXX_

The image slammed itself violently into his mind behind his flickering eyelids, and then there was small gasp quickly followed by a falling sensation as Blue found himself panting on the floor. His eyes darted around from the chair he had fallen out of to the Irkens who were staring in horror at him. Blue's advisors were quick to react as Blue sat up, stared at his hands as if lost, before crying, "Where are my fingers … where are my fingers?"

Blue stared at his three claws for a moment in an utter panic. Where were his fingers? Where were they! The poor panicking being was snapped from his horror as he listen to several small feet pound toward him. He looked up with wide eyes and stood up quickly as two of his advisors rushed to his side.

"My Tallest what of your hands? Are you hurt somehow? Should we fetch a medical drone?" The two medium height Irken's grabbed at his hands, but Blue quickly hid them behind his back, feeling embarrassed by his sudden reaction. There it was again, an emotion … embarrassment. Irken's never grew embarrassed of their actions and least of all a Tallest, yet Blue kept feeling a nagging question in the back of his pak … was he really as Irken as he believed himself to be?

"No, no, it was just a dream," answered that dark blue Tallest quickly. He got a lot of strange looks and quickly corrected himself, "I mean idea; an idea about hands."

The advisors only started to look even more worried. _Smooth Blue, smooth, now everyone thinks you've blown a circuit. _The two advisors didn't leave his side like he was hoping, but instead they both took a step closer, their faces dripping with worrisome expressions. Blue just grinned. Yah, he knew he had dug a deep hole with the dream word. Irken's did not dream, especially dreams about a filthy human. The last thing he needed were rumors that he was a defect or something. Of course, Zim would probably silence any being for even mentioning such a thing by melting them down for foot medicine. No one dared call his counterpart defective. Either way, another advisor wearing a green robe had walked up to Blue as well, looking worried. _Yeah … a deep endless pit of a hole_.

Soon, every Irken in the room had stopped working and were staring at him with those huge dewy eyes. For some reason, Blue started to blush. Why the hell was he blushing? He should be use to all this attention; he was a Tallest after all. Yet, then again, there was this nagging in the back of his pak that said he never got this much attention. Either way, it was unnerving him. True, he loved talking … to himself. Zim quickly broke him of that, yet Blue always found himself unnerved when everyone would stop whatever they were doing and actually listen to him. Irken's actually listened to him … okay, now the last advisor was tugging at his robe asking to see his hands. Time to go, last thing he needed was Zim finding out about this.

"Um, my hands are fine see," Blue waved his hands in front of himself for a quick second, pushed the advisor's hands away, and then hid them behind his back again. He slowly floated backwards toward the sliding door all eyes still on him.

"Well," Blue scratched the back of his head in a nervous manner … he had a feeling something was suppose to be there, "Got to go."

And he was out of the door faster then his advisors could call out his name.

…

Zim was lazily sitting in the chair, which used to be Red's. He'd never sit in Purples. He was never sure why, but that didn't matter right now. At the moment, he was enjoying a little show of Gir torturing a service drone. He didn't know why he still kept Gir around. Maybe it was because the little guy reminded him of Earth every once in a while by mentioning those horrible, filthy earth tacos or … ugh, tuna. The little robot also brought Blue much joy, yet his counterpart never knew why. Zim knew why, he knew exactly why, yet he wouldn't be telling Blue why anytime soon, if possible, never.

A screech echoed over the room, and Zim threw back his head in a whaling laugh as Gir pulled on the poor servant's antenna. Zim never grew tired of that, "Hey you … you! Listen to me! Listen to Zim! I don't care if Gir is ripping off your antennae. I want snacks!"

Poor, little Irken let out a whimper when Gir finally jumped off and attacked the advisor whom just walked through the sliding doors. The servant left the room sniffling as his antennae twitched. Now Zim took his entertainment from the advisor's suffering as he thrashed around tripping on his robes, trying to get the little defective SIR off his head. Finally, the poor guy collapsed noisily at his Tallest's feet, and Gir jumped off, into his master's lap. Zim quickly gave Gir a lollypop before the little mechanical monster decided to ride him like a donkey, as well.

"Thanks Master! I like tuna!" And with that, the SIR unit stole the drink from his master's hand, as well as the lolly-pop, and ran out of the doors screeching. An echo of horrified screams filled the hall, and a grin couldn't help but pull at Zim's lips. The red Tallest shifted out of his slouched position to tower properly over the whimpering advisor at his feet. "Don't tell me there's a snack shortage, because if there is you'll surely suffer for interrupting my entertainment time … and losing my drink."

The advisor swallowed and slowly rose to his feet, trying to smooth out some wrinkles in his robe as he did so, "No-no my Tallest. It-it's just that I was looking for Tallest Blue. He-he seemed greatly distressed earlier about his hands, so we've been looking for him in order to have a medical drone can look at his hands."

A surprised squeak escaped the advisor when he found a shadow looming over him and a full height Irken glaring down. "What did he say exactly … did he say he was missing some _fingers_?"

The word was more like a hiss then an actual word as Zim glared down at the advisor. This was just wonderful. It was one of the first reactions when Dib, no Blue, started to relapse. Oh well, at least this time he had a little forewarning.

"How did-did you know my Tallest?"

Only the hum of closing doors answered the advisor as well as the swish of moving robes as the Tallest disappeared out of the room.

"Um … my Tallest?"

…

The Tallest sneaked a quick peak around the corner … nope, Zim was nowhere in sight. True, Blue knew that Zim was looking for him. One of the advisors must have told him about his little freak out earlier with … hands? Why did he say that? He had no hands. He had claws. Blue pulled his antennae back in irritation. Did it really matter? Strange things like that happened to him all the time and as long as Zim didn't find out, nobody questioned it … at least not around him that is.

The Tallest looked down the hall one more time … nobody. With that, Blue started making his way down the hall on foot. True, is hover belts made virtually no noise, but he knew that small amount of sound they did make was enough to tell any Irken whom was coming his way. Said Irken would probably tell Zim where he was; then Zim would find him, question him, and finally Blue would find himself with Zim's hand up his pak. Yes, it was a vicious cycle. All this could be ignored, of course, if he could just remain unseen for a few hours and then everyone would forget about the whole hand thingy.

Blue's feet moved quickly thanks to his long stride. The leader's antennae twitched nervously as he made his way down the long hall and towards the small door located at the end of it. That door led to the service drones' quarters, and since service drones weren't allowed to speak to a Tallest without first being spoken to, no one was going to question why he was down there. True, it was slightly cramped, but it was an easy place to hide since there were so few lights down there.

Blue's claws twitched as he neared the door and as soon as he placed his palm on the scanner to open the door, a voice called out to him.

"My Tallest! My Tallest!" Blue quickly felt a gloved hand place itself on his wrist, which shocked the leader. Blue quickly turned his head to see a tall invader, well short compared to him, but a head taller then his advisors. Blue tried to not growl as the looked over at the solider. By the look of the equipment he wore, he was an interrogation officer of a high standing.

"What do you want?" Blue tried not to bark, but he kept the anger in his eyes as he pulled his hand off the scanner, which the officer had so rudely shut.

"Sorry, my Tallest!" shouted the officer all of a sudden, doing a salute at the same time, "I did not wish to touch nor offend my Tallest. It's just that that door leads to the service drone halls, and I didn't want my Tallest filthying himself by accidentally entering those quarters."

The red-eyed Irken swallowed and his antennae twitched. He waited for Blue to either nod his head in thanks for be saved from the service drone quarters, or to be thrown out an air lock for touching his Tallest without permission. Of course, it was well known that Blue was a fair ruler and soft hearted at times; thus, he probably wouldn't be thrown out of the airlocks … unless he told Zim that is. So it still came down to if Blue was offended or not if he was going to live another day.

"Very good," Blue tried not to growl and hiss that he wanted to go down there. He didn't want to give his hiding place away now did he? "Now be on your way soldier."

The Tallest gave a wave of his hand and glared down at the invader, noting the relief that quickly filled the shorter one's eyes… yet the soldier did not leave. Instead, he pulled out of his salute and started to speak, "My Tallest. I am pleased to inform you that the rebel leader of Loogynook 7 has finally been captured and is waiting for your judgment on how he's to be punished."

Blue stared at him for a moment and then hissed, "That's Zim's specialty. I'm rather busy right now trying to hi- find snacks. Now go ask Zim and let me be."

The Interrogation Specialist swallowed. Tallest Blue was in a bad mood, which meant that Zim was in a really bad mood. He'd rather deal with Blue right now then Zim when it came straight down to it. He had a greater percentage rate of living through Blue's fury then Zim's, "Sorry, my Tallest. No one has seen Zim in over an hour. This matter needs attention now my Tallest. We can't continue forward with the rebel's men until he is properly dealt with. I, for one, want those filthy creatures off the Massive." The invader tightened up as he waited for an answer.

Blue sighed. _Do I have a choice? Besides, if I'm busy working Zim won't be able to get his hands on me._ "Fine Invader …?"

"My name is Nave and I am one of the Massive's Interrogation Officers. I'm honored that my Tallest even wishes to know my name." Nave bowed once more. "The room is this way, Tallest Blue. I'll have a service drone fetch those snacks you were looking for."

Blue tried not to sigh as he followed his guide … he had a feeling this wasn't going to end well.

It was a short walk, and Nave quickly opened the door, stepping to the side in order to allow Blue in first. Blue was trying to think of a punishment … what kind of punishment would Zim give? One would think death, but after the first few rebels. Zim got bored with that punishment and soon started thinking up new punishments as if it were a game. The more creative, the more fun he'd have. The dimension of the Moose Room had never been so busy. Blue stepped into the room, still looking at the floor. Should he send him to the room with a moose or maybe the dimension of Disney. Yes, the dimension of Disney. Truly there was no worst, non-lethal punishment. Blue quickly lifted his head; trying to pull an evil smirk on his lips … he had to play the part after all.

Then it happened … Blue just couldn't stop himself as he stared at the fuzzy creature. Not even a second was allowed to pass as he instinctively pointed a finger and yelled, "Oh my Irk! It's big foot! Where's my camera."

Let's just say that the silence was thick enough to stick a fork in and yell, 'It's done!' Well, Blue knew he was _done_ for, because at that very moment he felt a hand lay on his shoulder in a calm but tense way. There was only one person tall enough on the Massive to put a hand on his shoulder. A sickness set in Blue's gut and he resisted the urge to whimper, "Hello, Zim."

"Blue … we need to talk," hissed Zim into his counterpart's antenna. The red Tallest then looked at the fuzzy beast, and finally glared down at Nave, his eyes turned to slits. "From this day forward, this species is extinct … if you get my drift."

The room was silent as all eyes fell on the enraged being. Zim was cruel in his own ways, but never had he just simply stated "death". He'd generally have some stupid plan to go with it like turning the entire species into rodents, and then releasing them on an enemy planet so that they would back up sewage drains which, in effect, caused the planet to drown in its own dookie! But no … it was nothing but a simple death sentence. Not even one slave.

"… As you wish my Tallest," stated Nave as he saluted his superiors. The Irken couldn't help but stare as he watched Zim practically drag his counterpart out of the room. Blue, of course, wasn't looking at Zim. He was looking at the creature and its soft fur. Blue subconsciously ran his claws over the top of his head pressing down his antenna. He had a feeling something was suppose to be there … that something was missing, and he couldn't help but feel a sadness fall deep into his chest at the thought … yet he still did not know why he was so sad.

XXX

Paw07: Nope, I don't abandon stories. I just have really long breaks between updates. (dodges rotten fruit) Sorry guys, just wasn't inspire for a while there.

(RVS 9/08)


	3. Let's Make a Deal

Chapter 3: Let's Make a Deal

XXX

Sniffles filled the hull of the ship. It was an almost dying sound that sickened Zim to his very core, but he couldn't shut it up. Dib was still in to fragile for Irken sedatives and human sedatives could be deadly at such a time. A moaning scream echoed over the ship's interior and then a soft metallic scrapping was announced to the Irken's antennae. Zim soon found small blue optics staring up at him in utter distress.

"Master –

"Why aren't you watching Dib!" Growled Zim as he pressed a few more controls. Generally, autopilot was rather reliable, but with him 'dead' he couldn't risk being seen and a chase wasn't the wisest of moves with Dib in such a bad state. The DNA transformation was just staring on the reconfiguration of the human organs leaving the human in sheer misery as well as passing seizures as organs shut down so a new Irken one could take over. The process had slowed down remarkably as if the serum he had given Dib knew this was a delicate period and needed to be handled gracefully and with time… a lot slower then most of his external features like his hands. Damn, that had scared him to see Dib rip into himself like that … ropes and restraints were a necessity for a while there.

"But … but he's shaking master and he keeps … keeps asking." Whispered the robot as if it were a horrible secret, throwing his head from side to side as if looking for the spy.

"Asking what?" Added Zim in a cautious tone. He wasn't asking for water again was he? If he even had a drop now he'd surely die. He was just so frail that Zim was almost afraid to touch him.

The little robot looked at his owner with dewy eyes and then burst into tears. Zim still had no idea how the robot could manage to cry, but Gir pulled it off nicely. "He keeps asking master and I keeps telling him noooooo! But he won't stop! Please make him stop asking Master! I don't want to kill Dib!"

… That was a surprise and Zim's face gave it away completely to the little robot as his mind scrambled for answers. Dib always acted so strong; he never gave up … EVER! He didn't know the meaning of the word and here he was begging for death, for an end. The Invader got up and forced himself to push autopilot and Computers voice came to life. "_How bad is it?"_

"I'll tell you in a minute, watch the Autopilot." Added the tall Irken as he ducked into the small quarters that were serving as a medical bay. His feet led him into the dim room that smelled like the salty, metallic concoction of blood. Dib had been coughing up black chunks of it for days now. Sometimes there were trace amounts of dead organs in the soup of his regurgitated innards. It wasn't a pretty picture, but at least his squegally-spooch had started to form; thus his ability to do a quick job of getting rid of the 'waste' materials … or Dib's in-superior dead human organs if you wanted to be specific. Zim looked at the shivering being on a sleeping proto-bed against the wall. Dib was shaking again and his breaths were more labored. The invader turned on the lights; he knew Dib would probably whimper in pain due to his adjusting eyes, but he really needed to examine him.

"Dib?" Zim sat on the stool that suddenly sprang out of the floor. The human half-Irken didn't make any indication that he knew the other was there… not until Zim tried to touch him that is.

The human sat up with a blood wrenching scream as he pulled his arm away that Zim had just tried to touch. "Don't fucking touch me! Don't fucking touch me!" The human shivered against the wall clutching his green tinted arms with his now three clawed fingers, his blankets hanging limply on his arms. Zim couldn't help but stare in awe at how far the transformation was along. The human's skin … well, didn't have much human in it. It had already turned a soft green and most of his body hair was all but gone. Speaking of hair … Dib's head hair was falling out. The Irken had never taken into account what he human would look like without hair … his head looked even larger.

Dib noticed the Irken's pressing stare and quickly threw one of his medical blankets at the alien to stop him from staring. What? It was all he had to throw. After his first freak out the invader had bounded his hands, stripped him of anything he could hurt himself with, and locked him in a small room with Gir of all things. He was in pain, he was sick, hot and cold all over, his tamely hair was falling out, his teeth ached, and he was coughing up lungs. Plus, he was finding it harder and harder to sleep. His mind just wouldn't let him shut down almost like he wasn't in need of sleep anymore … then there was the knowledge … the knowledge his family was dead. Yah, they weren't the best family in the world, but they were his! Nobody else's! … And now he had nothing. He wanted to cry so badly, but he found out the hard way what would happen if he started to cry. It was best just not to. Dib swallowed feeling something new slide down his throat that wasn't salvia … he had to ask. His mind was haunting him with why's. If one would just be answered he might be able to find some rest.

The human slowly pulled his legs into his chest and tried not to hiss in pain as he buried his head between the crook in his knees. "Why?"

"Why?" Zim's antennae perked up. This was the first calm thing Dib had said to him since he saw what he was becoming. Mostly he'd curse Zim and then draw into himself whimpering in a dull pain. The Irken might have sighed in relief, but resisted. So Dib's mind wasn't gone, just hiding. If Dib's mind was to disappear there would sadly be no use in keeping him.

"Yes! Why!" Zim tried not to smile as the Dib he knew exploded into a rage. "Why the fuck have you done this to me!? You won! There is no need to torture me anymore! I would have been happy dying! Zim!" The human was panting after his short outburst and slowly drew his staggering limbs back into himself. "You can at least tell me why you're doing this to me Zim."

The invader smirked and leaned forward so he was a few inches in Dib's face. He wanted the once human to get the point. "Dib … you're very smart aren't you?"

The human glared at him and shoved him away slightly to get the Irken out of his breathing space, not that he could really breathe anyway right now. "You already knew that. All the times I've interrupted your plans for world domination should have told you that."

Zim resisted the urge to rub in Dib's last failure with the Armada and continued, "And your stature is extremely tall even for a human."

"Yes, I am Mr. Obvious … you know what my skin color is too? It's peach. Oh wait, not anymore." Hissed Dib in a sarcastic and angry tone.

Zim pulled his antennae back. He knew this was sarcasm, but no matter how hard he tried he never quite understood it. "All for the better … I certainly can't execute my plan without notice if a human is lagging behind me."

"As if I'd follow you. I'd be ripping you to shreds right now if I had the strength."

Zim leaned back on his stool as a back suddenly appeared for it. The Irken pretended to be looking at his nails, as if showing disinterest as he spoke. He had learned a few tricks from the earthling females … deceptive creatures really when it came to playing with the mind. The right combination of words and physical movements could get you almost anything. "I'm sure you would … but then you would never get your revenge. Shame really. With me dead you'd be stuck floating in space with nothing for company but your thoughts … your thoughts on how you failed Earth for example." Dib leaned forward and was about to scream in protest, but Zim slapped his hand over the half-Irken's mouth and continued, squeezing his nails into the flesh for emphasis on silence. "Or how all the humans are slowly going extinct because you weren't strong enough to save them, and then there's the thought that somewhere else in the universe the beings that have raped your Earth, so that it can bear nothing but oh-so-chocolaty goodness, are doing the same to other planets; killing off the last of your people in process as they are worked to death." Dib had stopped struggling against the hand and was listening with this sad sunken look in his eyes … a broken look, but he was still listening so it wasn't completely hopeless. "But Dib … what if you could have revenge? What if you could per say, get rid of the Tallest hum? Revenge is a dish sweeter then all other emotions no? "

Zim removed his hand and stood up. The human had this glazed look in his eyes … he was thinking. "I leave you to yourself Dib … think over what I've told you and if you want to discuss my plan a little more in depth. I'm sure you'll agree with my actions soon enough."

… and Zim left.

Days were usually dragging and painful, not that Dib knew the time, but now at least his mind wasn't in torture. His fingers twitched for the hundredth time that day at the thought of the dead Tallest; watching their poor excuse for blood pool all over the floor with him being bathed in it as he dissected their paks. He held onto that image with a truly insane smile and for the first time in a long time he was able to fall asleep. He couldn't recall if he dreamed, but he was sure that if he had he would have been dreaming of killing the Tallest. Not Earth and its valleys, but killing the Tallest.

The door oozed open silently and Zim peeked in for the third time in the past day. Dib had been sleeping for two human Earth days and hadn't shown any signs of waking soon. This of course surprised Zim. Dib was far enough in his Irken stages that he was probably no longer in need of sleep, yet here he was dozing quietly and twitching his Irken fingers. He seemed angry, yet happy. It was easy to conclude that Dib was dreaming. Irkens didn't dream so it was a questionable thing really. How was a human's mind able to function when it was technically offline? Not only would it create pictures and emotions, there were sometimes really coherent thoughts going on. It was an interesting thing really. No other species in the universe dreamed … it was a shame he never took time to investigate.

A small whimper was born from the sheets and Dib rolled over, careful to not put any weight on his belly. The Irken grinned. "About time."

Dull, almost white eyes glimmered open and with a soft whine the sleeping figure sat up facing the wall; sheets mindfully hanging on his shoulders. "Morning Zim."

"It's not morning Dib … since you're finally awake do you want me to continue with my proposition?"

The sheets shift for a moment and Dib pulled his feet out so they hanged off the edge of the recovery table. He stared at his three black-clawed toes for a moment. Slowly, he dragged his head up lazily and whispered. "I had a dream Zim … and in that dream I killed the Tallest."

The human said no more so Zim smiled. "I'll take that as a yes to hearing me out." The Irken waved his hand and then a chair sprung from the metal tiles in the floor and the invader sat down. "I'll be simple and to the point since I know a growing boy needs his rest." Dib growled at the obvious stab at him, but the Irken continued in a more serious tone. "You and I are going to play a little game Dib. We're going to play 'dress up."

Dib rose what was left of his brow. "I thought you said you were going to get straight to the point?"

Zim's smile disappeared and he rubbed the back of his head. "So I did … oh humor me! Once you look a little more Irken we can easily infiltrate the advisors rank."

Dib sneered, but quickly closed his mouth when he saw Zim smiling at his newly developing teeth. "I'm rather sure you could have done that on your own Zim … so why drag me along?"

"Well … it's my pak." Stated the invader with distaste, which caused Dib to perk up his head slightly. He didn't know much about paks except for the fact that Zim had always been overly protective of his. In fact, he had never been able to get his hand on it or get a proper scan. As far as he was concerned the only purpose of the pak was to be a technological Swiss army knife of sorts. It had everything an invading Irken needed. Zim swallowed as if embarrassed. "Well … you know that time that huge Irken came and snatched me out of the class room?"

Dib tried not to laugh as he watched Zim start to twitch in his seat and fiddle with his fingers. He was embarrassed and the human took no time in abusing that fact. "What? Was that your dad and he came to give you a time out of something Zim? You never told me who exactly that was or where you disappeared to for a month."

The invader's eyes became slits. He liked sick Dib; the original Dib was starting to peek through again. "No … hewasmybossatafastfoodrestaurant ."

Dib's grin grew all the larger and he didn't mind the fact that his teeth were sharp. In fact, the feel of his human tongue sliding over them was enthroning and he half wished he had a mirror to look at them properly … of course he wasn't going to tell Zim that. "What was that? You know my ears haven't quite fallen off yet so I do believe you're mumbling." Dib leaned forward on his arms and stuck his smiling mug into Zim's face. The other Irken's face crunched up in distaste and he leaned back so Dib couldn't get any closer.

"No." Hissed the invader as he pushed Dib's head back out of his personal bubble. "His name was Sizz-Lorr and he was my … boss."

"Your boss?" Dib was a bit put out by the answer and couldn't help but slump back away from the other being, his smile gone. "But wait … I thought your bosses were the Tallest?"

"Well … they are, but he's my boss at my job." Zim sighed … he couldn't believe he was going to say this.

"Your boss … but you're an invader. You can't have a boss."

Zim sighed. "I don't know how much of the hail you caught when the Tallest were talking to me on Earth." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He really didn't want to enrage the halfling with memories of his defeat, but it was the easiest way to explain. "You were kind of out of it so I doubt you heard the fine details."

"Yah … I remember the fine details." Growled the half-Irken irritably, his teeth bearing in an angry manner like a rabid dog. "I remember bleeding like a stuffed goat all over the floor and you calling your precious leaders like a good dog. You know I think it's kind of funny that they abandoned you. Its-

Dib stopped the moment he saw the Irken's antennae drop. Something deep inside him told him to stop … his Irken side told him to stop, but his human half was bitter so he found himself biting his own tongue to keep the anger in. He needed Zim right now … he needed his revenge. Dib twitched and yelped as blood started to drip down the side of his mouth. Maybe he shouldn't have bit down.

Zim's antennae perked up … it smelled like Irken blood. Dib was getting nearer and nearer to his due date; his blood smelt metallic. He had to convince Dib now before his transformation was complete … his human organs would last a little bit longer, but not forever. He jumped off his chair and slowly made his way to one of the walls. He murmured to it softly and a drawer popped out of the wall. Dib twitched when Zim handed it to him a soft material to dab the wound with; the bleeding stopped almost immediately. "Good … now put this in your mouth."

Dib rolled his eyes and reached for the little metal orb trying to ignore the fact that his and Zim's hands were almost alike now. It sickened him to think too much on it so he just pushed that fact to the back of his mind and picked up the little ball between his fingers only to drop it with a squeak as he slid father onto his bed. The human started at the little ball as it wiggled about for a moment only to fall back into its original form. "Y-you're trying to kill me! I knew it!"

Zim rolled his eyes. _Irk, another human characteristic_. "I almost forgot you were so paranoid. After all the work I've put into you why would I kill you now?"

Dib's eye's shifted in a paranoid manner. "Then why did it move … what is it for that matter?"

The Irken resisted the urge to laugh at the stupidity of the question only to stop himself … to an Irken it would have been a stupid question because almost every Irken had to use it at least once. But then he remembered, despite the way Dib looked, he wasn't Irken. "Why it keeps you from damaging your mouth." Dib raised a brow and Zim sighed … _not Irken, not Irken_. "Smeet, Irken babies, are born with their teeth and like human children their motor skills are not perfect, better but not perfect. So basically these are like human braces and they make sure you won't bleed yourself to death by biting down on your tongue."

Dib resisted the urge to slam his head against a wall. Braces! Braces! After all the indignities he had been forced to live through in his short life Zim was going to try and push that on him. The human rubbed his temples. "That's not necessary Zim. I bit my tongue on purpose. Now continue with you pak thing. What's the issue with it?"

Zim narrowed his eyes and pushed the hand with the object a little closer towards the other. He was not going to have his plans go up in smoke just because Dib drowned in his own blood one night dreaming about filthy human hamburgers. "Basically my pak says that I'm a food drone and that I must work as one, nothing else like an advisor. Take it and put it in you mouth."

Dib turned his nose up. True, he could no longer smell out of it, but it still had its uses. "So as a food drone you don't have advisor's rights to let's say … get in the Tallest's private quarters and no."

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean and yes." Growled Zim as he pushed the item a little nearer to his past foe.

"So what are we going to do? I doubt those pak things are easily compromised since your here talking about it and haven't done it to yourself yet, no."

"They're very delicate. I could die if I crossed the wrong wires and yes you will put it in your mouth! Stop acting like a smeetling!" Growled Zim as he rose from his chair, stood up, and leaned on the bed pushing the item nearer to Dib's face.

Dib merely turned his cheek and continued, ignoring the round item that was mere inches from his cheek and the hand holding it. "That's very interesting to learn … if I were you Zim I'd watch my back, literally. Now what's the plan to rid yourself of this little problem?" Stated Dib in a bored tone as he leaned into one of his hands staring at the little orb, but not touching it. The human tried not to smile as a little game entered his head. He was too sick to properly torture Zim for doing this to him so he'd just irritate the living crap out of him. The human frowned and couldn't help but note Zim's smile as he reached for the little silver orb, but before he even picked it up he used his forefinger to flick it. Zim stared at him with shock for a moment and then growled as he tramp towards the direction the little orb had flown in. "So … are we going to steal someone else's pak or are we going to hack into the computers or …?"

The tall Irken growled and got on his hands and knees to search under some machinery. He grunted once or twice until he hit his head and came up cursing holding the orb. He glared at it with one dewy eye before glaring up at the human on the cot. Dib smiled, crossed his legs, and leaned down awaiting an answer. "Well all those are noes … because advisors are on the Massive, the Control Brains are on the massive and Irk, and you are going to put this in your mouth!"

A screech filled the room as Zim crawled across the room with the speed of a rabid ant and grabbed the mocking human by the collar of his baggy white shirt. If he was well enough to mock him he was well enough to take a little roughhousing. With a rather loud thud the human was dragged to the floor and into a headlock, kicking his bare feet as Zim struggled to subdue him. There was much cursing on the human's part until the Irken managed to get a decent headlock wearing the human out. "I believe we've come to an agreement Dib."

"I'm not putting that thing in my mouth. It's been on the floor!" Hissed Dib as he pursed his lips together only to have to choke on his own hiss as he nipped his tongue again … of course he wasn't going to tell Zim that and god, his blood tasted like a bucket of salty rusted iron.

Zim sighed … it was like dealing with a smeetling. He lifted up his free hand and dipped the round object into a cup that had just appeared out of the wall along with a tray of food. The Irken then wiped it on his uniform and once again tried to force the other to put it in his mouth.

"No." Hissed Dib as he tried to keep some of his dignity. "That was poison. You're trying to kill mmmmh!"

"I use to think your big mouth was irritating, but it seems it's not in some cases." Zim let the human go so he could hiss and wiggle like a worm on a hook as the little orb went to work. "Another use of your big mouth is that I'm fairly confidant that you have better people skills then I do."

After gagging for a few times Dib was able to remove his clawed hand from his mouth, wince once or twice as the wiggling came to a halt and tightened around his teeth. "You're a bastard Zim." Hissed the human as he wiped some spittle from his mouth and slowly rose to his feet, struggling for balance. After a moment or two he was able to stand without the help of the bed ... it felt strange on these legs. They were so thin yet they felt sturdy. The human wiped his mouth again and glared at Zim whom had opened a closet of some soft and was silently digging through it in the shadows. "What exactly do you mean by people skills?"

Zim peered over his shoulder to glance at Dib before returning to his search. "The Voritans."

"Is that an illness?" Dib swallowed and slowly picked up a polished metal tool. He bared his teeth and couldn't help but howl in agony and fall to his knees in a drama queen fashion. "Great, as if I wasn't enough of a freak already. I look like I ate the Tin man."

"Quit whining. You've already bitten yourself twice today so just be thankful." Dib glared at him, but said nothing as the invader continued in his rant. "The Voritans are a technologically advanced race … in fact they've designed the Massive, the Tallest ship, and then we imprisoned their race."

"Oh that was friendly," stated Dib in a drawl tone as he picked up a metallic saw and started looking at his face again. So this was him huh? All of his hair was gone and it was easy to see the two developing antennae peaking up an inch or two … and he could hear out of them … and smell. It was weak and barely noticeable, but his nose hadn't worked in days and his ears had this echoing sound to them, by morning both would probably be gone just like his teeth. His skin was also a soft pale green now too; a shade or two from Zim's … the only thing that hadn't changed much were his eyes. Too bad they looked like the eyes of a dead man, misty white. He was going to be a dead man soon wasn't he? There was no way he was going to be able to survive this way, but he'd out it for the Earthlings. He'd hold out for them and then he'd let go.

"That is why they won't listen to me … I am an Irken. You on the other hand will never be a true Irken so they'll listen to you over me." Stated Zim as he walked back over to closet he had been digging through earlier.

Dib rubbed his cheek once more and tried not to wince as pain short through his chest and his back ached as if wanting something. "What exactly do I tell them?"

"Well," came Zim's muffled voice. "You tell them the truth. You want to kill the Tallest for destroying your planet and that I want to kill them for trying to kill me. I'm sure they'll relate and to do so we'll need their help. That they'll have to rewrite my pak to state that I'm an advisor and some other stuff. After that the rest is simple. Every single Irken is extremely loyal to the Tallest so they don't expect attempted murders from the inside. It will be easy to poison their snacks or lace there sheets with acid or something."

"And that's all?" Added Dib in a dry tone; Zim's plans were never that simple. There was something else he was keeping from him and he wasn't willing to share, but Dib would just hold his tongue for now. The human race was his number one priority. Zim had promised and he didn't seem like he was going to go back on his word.

"Yes … well there is also this." Zim pulled out a uniform that looked almost identical to his, a huge grin on his green face.

"I am not wearing that." Hissed Dib.

"Well not today you're not, but since planet Dirt is an Irken planet it will attract the least amount of attention, which is a good thing since an Irken without a pak is already impossible enough." Added the Irken as he tried to keep the worried tone out of his voice … there was another reason he was going to planet Dirt besides rewriting his pak … and it had to be done soon.

Dib rolled his eyes too tired to fight about it.

"Good. Now let me get you some Irken food so you can try those new teeth out. We'll be to planet dirt in a two days and I need you as strong as possible."

"What?" Added Dib in a worried tone as he tried to shake off an exhausted feeling that was creeping up on him. "Are they tall, huge, spiky, and dangerous?"

Zim merely laughed.

XXX

Dib wanted to throw up what little of the Irken food he had been able to keep down. He-he looked just like them in this uniform. The only thing that kept him from falling into a nervous tantrum were his still white eyes and the fact that he didn't have one of this horrible paks … it wasn't like he wanted to being wearing this uniform or anything it was just that he had been feeling terribly breathless and heavy limbed. So much so that he probably couldn't stop Zim from making him wear it anyway. "When in Rome do as the Romans do."

"We are not in Rome silly human-I mean Dib. We're on planet Dirt." Added the Invader as opened the hatch to the outside.

"I kind of figured that with the shaking of the hull when we came through the atmosphere." Added the human in a sarcastic tone. Just because he was feeling extra crappy today didn't mean he was going to let Zim walk all over him.

Dib followed Zim soundlessly down the street trying not to note just how dust encrusted everything seemed from the buildings to the people themselves. No wonder they called it planet Dirt … and it was a perfect place for illegal pak encoders to hide no? They turned another corner and Dib felt another shot of pain in his back. He was hoping this wasn't going to take long. He felt faintish, but he sure the hell wasn't going to tell Zim that. The loud mouth would probably say something quirky like, 'Irken's don't have weaknesses and therefore don't feel pain' or something equally irritating. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in his chest and the human found himself leaning against a wall gasping. Zim didn't seem to notice and kept walking as Dib leaned against the wall heavily gasping for even the smallest of breaths. Why couldn't he breathe and he was becoming light headed. Zim had told him there was air on this planet!

Zim's antennae twitched in a nervous way as he kept a stern gaze out for the Voritan he had contacted shortly after administering the Irken serum to Dib. The other was entranced by the idea and by the promise of 'payment' he had promised if his plan succeeded. The Irken merely jumped out of his pak when a voice came from the area of his feet. It always irked him how he missed things like short people now that he was tall, but at least it was his Voritan and not an Irken that had recognized him. "Oh there you are."

The Voritan nodded not taking his eyes off Dib who was gasping his chest and shaking. "He's not going to last much longer without a pak…

…

"… pak?"

Blue beadily opened one of his eyes and lazily looked up. A pair of red eyes stared down at him heavy with worry. "Tallest Blue?" Whispered the Advisor daringly poking the taller being to see if he was awake.

Blue groaned and slung his thick wrist over his eyes to keep the light out. "What is it Pixen?" His voice was barely a whisper.

The advisor pulled his antennae up glad that Blue had finally answered. It had been two days since Zim had dragged him away to one of the science labs. He later emerged with a semi-conscious Blue draped over his shoulder and pissed as hell. The advisor had been with Blue since then trying to ask him questions … like who Gaz was that he had been mumbling about a few hours ago. But with his leader looking so pained it could wait. "I said, my Tallest would you would like me to call a medical drone to look at your pak? Sooth Zim's _repairs_?"

A soft chuckle escaped the leader as he sat up with a grunt. "You mean to tell me you think Zim couldn't do pak repairs if his life depended on it?"

The advisor pulled away with a look of fear. He was going to be shot out of an air lock! "I-I didn't mean to-too. I mean no! He's great at repairs. Tallest Zim is one of the best pak repairer's I've ever seen!"

Blue laughed a little harder ignoring the ache in his pak. Generally, it wasn't his style to pick on his servants because they never understood his sense of humor … in fact no one did except Zim. He'd never laugh but he could always read Blue's sarcasm. The taller Irken stopped his giggling and cleared his throat. "It was a joke … Zim knows his stuff but he's not very delicate about it."

Pixen pulled his antennae back and stared at his leader in question. Joking hadn't even been a word in the Irken vocabulary until Blue took his place of power next to Zim. In fact, there were a lot of things Blue brought forth of a questioning manner. Curiosity was one of the top ones as well as a morbid paranoia when in enemy territory … then there were his dreams. No one dared speak of it out loud unless they were in the servant's corridors because an advisor had the daring enough to ask Zim once about that subject as well as Blue's origins. No one ever saw him again. So nobody no longer dared ask or question Blue's strange attributes. His pak had been encrypted as an advisor before he took power … so no Irken questioned where he was from, but all the advisors agreed: Blue never mentioned his origins because he didn't know and Zim never mentioned it because he did. "Is that a yes my Tallest?"

"Sure. I have stuff to do in the science department with a new alien species an Invader found. I can't spend a week in bed now can I?" Snuffed Blue as he rubbed his lower back hissing slightly. He just could never explain it … there was just something about alien species that intrigued him. He had a want, no a need, to dissect them and see how they worked. If they were intelligent he at least pitied them enough to put them out of their misery before he started cutting.

"Wonderful. Just a moment." Pixen got off his knees next to the cucumber shaped bad and disappeared.

Blue sighed and rubbed his head, feeling an antennae run between his fingers. It was always a strange sensation and he was very impartial to letting anyone touch them … it was like they didn't belong and like he was supposed to remember why they didn't. A pain pressed behind Blue's eyes and he took a shuddering breath so it would disappear forgetting his thoughts. This pain always happened after Zim would dive in his pak. He had told Blue that only defects dream and that if anyone found out he dreamed he'd be considered a defect. So Zim would rummaged through his pak deleting possible defect codes every once in a while. The Irken civilization could not have a defective leader so he'd live with the pain and the lost feeling that seemed to come with it. He was an Irken leader and as such he had to be strong.

XXX

Paw07: Nothing much to say. Hope you enjoyed.


	4. An Eye in a Jar

Chapter 4: An Eye in a Jar

XXX

Okay, maybe it was true that the Massive was per say … the size of a small planet, but that fact really didn't concern Zim's antennae. They still picked up on it; that sentence that he thought he'd never hear again.

'_It's big foot_!'

Oh, Irk! It had never gotten this bad, this quickly. True, Blue dreamed all the time, which strangely represented memories of his past life, but never had he reacted on one … it was more like he was remembering then dreaming nowadays. A bad sign on Zim's part; it wasn't that he was worried about pieces of Dib slipping through, because he would have never turned the human in the first place if there wasn't something he liked about the human. After all, Dib was everything an Irken invader should have been. He was cunning and knew how to talk himself out of a corner, was a genius in most studies of mechanics as well as the simplicity of dissection, and he also had this sense of honor, unafraid to take up arms and fight. Zim would be lying to himself if he didn't admit that Dib had unknowingly taught him how to be a better invader. It was a slow process, but with each failure Zim was forced to rethink his tactics and, slowly, he started to become more cunning in achieving his goal of global conquest.

So, a part of Zim wanted Dib back, longing for his cunning attributes and ostentatious mind, but if there was one thing his time on Earth taught him, a being couldn't have everything they wanted. It was a conflict of ideals when it came to Dib and him; so to keep his Dib, he had to bury away his memories … he was going to keep his trophy, even if it had cracks in it. Dib, no, Blue, would not be lost. Blue was the only thing that understood Zim and he wasn't going to loose that. He had been an outcast for so long, yet his own enemy offered him a hand in his most dire moment. This is something Zim would never forget. Dib was his prize and he had to protect it … even if he had to protect him from himself.

The Tallest stopped in his race down the halls of the Massive, noting how his robes shifted softly from the loss of movement. He stared forward for a moment before looking down at an advisor, which had been jogging to keep up. "Zim has thought long and hard. I will be going to the planet Vort to speak with a certain Voritan I met once, but before I leave I want to talk to Sizz-Lorr."

XXX

It was pooling everywhere like a faucet, dripping with a little splat as the blood oozed over the edge of the dissection table. Blue paid the blood no mind as he slowly plunged his hands into his newest "toy". It had caught him by surprise, really. Before the whole pak dilemma, Blue had been sitting silently next to Zim as the more active leader paced back and forth in utter excitement at the invaders' discovery of some rare resources on the Empire's newest planet. Blue resisted the urge to roll his eyes; he really could have cared less about the secret ingredient to nacho sauce. Yet, he sat in his Tallest chair pretending to be fascinated with the conquering of this planet. However, between Zim's victory dance and Invader Exon's victory speech, he noticed something growling and hissing in the background of the hail as it was tugged onto a ship.

Blue couldn't stop himself once he got a good look at it. He actually stood up, pushed Zim to the side, and pointed at the invader, stating simply, "Bring me the creature with the brown eyes." It had been silent for a moment, the invader looking at his Tallest with wide eyes. It wasn't that he was angry or shocked about being interrupted during his speech; it was that it was Tallest Blue, which had done it. It wasn't a hidden secret among the invaders: it was one thing to get Tallest Zim excited about an invasion, but to get Tallest Blue generally excited … it was unheard of and considered a great honor. Exon nearly fainted, yet still managed to race over to the executioner ship and dragged the beast to the vid-screen so Blue could properly examine it.

It was one thing to see one of Blue's stereotypical smiles meant to encourage his troops; it was another thing to see him smile with pure satisfaction.

And that was how he got his current "toy". True, when he had seen it, it had been alive. Now it was currently deceased, its one dazzling eye just lifeless looking at him. Furthermore, the beast wasn't that impractically special from any usual beast. In fact, it was rather stupid, hadn't even developed the first step in creating a written text, but there was that eye. It had the normal structure for a camera-type eye with its usual three layers: the sclera, the choroid, and the retina, but that wasn't what interested him, it was the iris … it was a haunting brown. It captured him somehow, like he had always known the color. It was as if the color had once been his and a small part of him wanted to own it, again.

Blue stopped cutting into the creature, his eyes getting wide behind his goggles. Now where did that thought come from? He had always had blue eyes …hadn't he?

"Tallest Blue?" inquired a shorter Irken who was across the other side of the table, his pak legs extend so he was able to observe the specimen on it.

The taller Irken snapped out of his thoughts only to notice that he had been still for the past minute, just staring at that eye and not the heart like organ in his hands. He slowly turned to his assistant, pulling his goggles up, noting with a strange satisfaction that the creature's blood was now dripping down the goggle and down his green cheek. "What is it Borit?"

Borit's slanted pink eyes twitch slightly at the sight of that disgusting goo even touching his Tallest's body. He didn't understand why his Tallest degraded himself to such pitiful research. He should be enjoying snacks like Tallest Purple and Red use too, or at least be enjoying the show the invaders put on when conquering a planet; Zim seemed to get his enjoyment that way, so why didn't Tallest Blue?

The Head Researcher sighed. He didn't understand his Tallest at all, but if Tallest Blue wanted to chop up this meaningless being instead of eating snacks, who was he to stop him? Well, he could mention a slight complaint to Zim that Blue had been acting funny during the dissection, which would certainly stop this whole dissection obsession, probably.

The two Tallest would doubtless get into a huge fight about it though.

The smaller Irken stiffened physically at the thought. A fight would be, well, interesting was probably the best word for it, but it would certainly end badly. It wasn't like the two didn't have strange little scrimmages when they'd have outlandish yelling fights, which were kind of childish, but usually led to fistfights. Now, no one, himself included, would never forget the first fistfight the two leaders got into.

It had been a normal day when the two started a disagreement about Blue sneaking off in one of his hand made Voot Cruisers without at least a wing guard. Zim made the mistake of telling Blue to destroy his Voot Cruisers and pay attention to more important things, like snacks. Blue had been quiet for a moment and everyone thought he had given in to his co-leader's demands, so much so that Zim himself started to gloat. It was then that all hell broke loose when Blue physically threw himself at the other in a flying mixture of pak legs, fists, and Tallest robes. It took at least twenty minutes for the advisors and few taller guards to pull the two apart. The strange thing was, though, when they were sitting there panting and bleeding, the two then began to laugh. Well, to say the least, it ended well, but the medical drones weren't very happy.

A sigh escaped the Head Researcher as he looked at his Tallest Blue, the taller Irken seemed to be haunted by that eye, again. Oh well, maybe it was true that Blue was odd, but one thing was for sure, there wouldn't be an Empire left if just Zim was ruling. The small Irken grinned. Now that was a day he'd never forget when Zim became a Tallest … he was sure they were all going to die, but then there was Blue. He just stepped up as if he had been _made_ to balance out Zim's erratic behavior, despite the strangeness that accompanied him.

Borit resisted the urge to sigh again, in relief. Thank Irk for little favors. And with that thought complete, the Irken pulled out a rag, making his pak legs stretch to their limits. It was with great care that he wiped the blood from his treasured Tallest. Blue automatically jumped away from the table with a startled hiccup. The Head Researcher wasn't surprised by his leader's reaction, Blue had always been wary about being touched, even for nice things like massages. He just didn't want to be touched … it was as if he was embarrassed. Not a Tallest trait at all, not that anyone would admit it.

"Forgive me my Tallest. We have not yet examined the creature's blood. It might have poison in it."

Blue looked at his soldier, and then meekly ran a clawed hand down his cheek. It always surprised him that Irken's were so loyal to him … that they saw him, that he was no longer invisible. In fact, he was the object of attention. The Tallest was about to rub his tongue over his teeth in a nervous reaction, but somehow managed to stop the response. He had mangled his tongue enough time to know better, but a part of him still wanted to do it as if his teeth weren't sharp as blades. But Irk knows, that if he did, Zim and the med drones would have a slight hissy fit and make him put on those, guh, teeth guards. No way in hell! Not again! He had had them forcibly put on twice already by his co-Tallest and he'd be Irked if he didn't go down with a fight the next time.

Borit tried not to smirk as his Tallest hurriedly put his hand over his mouth. He recalled the Chief Medical Drone mentioning his Tallest's "bad habit" and his occasional need for teeth guards. Perhaps his Tallest needed something to barter his time with.

"My Tallest," cooed the Head Researcher, "Perhaps you would like this. Something to distract your troubled mind?"

Blue drew his gaze away from the haunting eye of the deceased creature and looked at his Head Researcher, removing his hand from his mouth. He stared at the Irken and the glimmering object in his hand, yet, despite his slight confusion, he took it into hand. "It's merely a jar."

"Exactly."

XXX

Blue sat in his Tallest's chair in the control room of the Massive. He had one arm propped on the armrest with his chin leaning on that arm. He had been admiring _it_ as he turned _it_ around in his other hand. The eye didn't even shift away from him within its liquid prison. The brown iris just continued to stare at him as if it was watching him with just as much curiosity as he was watching it. He couldn't look away. The strange organ seemed to be whispering things to him and he wanted to listen. It saw the part of him that he could not.

"And they call me cruel. At least I don't carry souvenirs around."

Blue didn't even twitch as Zim snickered and jumped over the back of his chair, landing in the seat. The co-Tallest then proceeded by leaning over the arm of his chair and grinning at the "toy". The smile quickly faded, though, when Blue didn't start paying attention to the once Invader; Zim made a grab for the object; his fingers only gracing air.

Zim huffed and Blue laughed dryly as he continued to admire his toy, "If you wanted my attention, you could just ask for it, Zim."

"Whatever, Zim doesn't need your attention," added the red Tallest as he slumped into his chair, moping. This went on for about thirty seconds before Zim lunged for it again … he merely grabbed for air once more.

Blue grinned at his counterpart and quickly buried the small jar in his robes, snapping his wrists in a mocking manner before he sat back down, looking forward as if he was entertained by the view of empty space.

After a moment of the childish game of glare and grin, Zim growled, "Give me."

Blue raised an eye as if in question, a mocking grin on his face, "Whatever do you mean, Zim?"

Zim felt a flame burst to life in his chest. This was the same passionate fire Dib and he shared when they had fought over the future of Earth. True, they no longer fought as if their lives depended on success or failure, but they still had their bouts of childish banter and brawls. It seemed they were both in need of a quick game.

Was fine with Zim.

"You know exactly, give to Zim or suffer the consequences," the red being demanded as he put forth a clawed hand, waiting patiently with a sickening grin on his face.

Blue huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Try me, because I'm not going to give it to you."

Zim smiled. _Just like the old days. _And just like that, Zim jumped over the expanse of the chair gap. A collection of royal robes flew through the air as the two Tallest began a slightly violent game of "gimme", leaving the control room in a slight panic; the advisors all sighing as they readied the mild antiseptic.

A cry rang through the room as Zim suddenly went flying into the pilots' den, sending the pilots in a mild retreat to not get squished. Blue merely grinned, wiping spittle from his mouth as he sat up. A growl quickly escaped the expanse behind the control panel of pilots' den. Then, without much warning, the retired invader leapt onto the control panel in a crouching stance, an evil grin on his face.

"Zim will have it."

Dib jumped to his feet, brushing imaginary dust off his chest, "Please, you don't even want it. It's just an eye."

"Then give it to Zi-me, if it is so unimportant."

"Never," came the word, as if he had said it a thousand times before. Then, a war cry rang from the two beings again and the two were biting and clawing, like two children fighting over a toy.

There was a soft whish of opening doors, completely unnoticed by all the viewers of the brawl and the brawlers themselves, and in stepped a hulking figure with a mountain like stance. With a sigh, the newcomer wandered over to the worried advisors whom were wincing and cringing at every bite and kick the Tallest were giving each other.

"Fighting again," grumbled Sizz-Lorr as he crossed his arms over his puffed out chest, allowing the light to glare off his military badges, "they never seem to tire do they, Pixen?"

Pixen slightly jumped and then suddenly perked up his antennae. It was Sizz-Lorr … a nobody who had somehow found his favor in none other than Tallest Zim. Apparently, the large Irken had once been an invader who had been turned into the head fry cook on planet Foodcourtia after failing to conquer a planet in a set time limit. He had been a reject, a mockery of the populace, much like Zim had been, but there was something else there … something no one was going tell. But one this was for certain… that Zim, alone, probably had more secrets then Tallest Red and Purple had combined; Sizz-Lorr being one of them.

"No, they don't sir. They rather seem to like their scrimmages, as if there is something more to this then a simple game."

The ex-fry cook looked down at the advisor, a grin playing on the being's face. If only they knew, if only. "Perhaps … is Tallest Zim ready to go, his ship is prepped and ready."

The advisor was about to say no, when a loud yelp filled the room and Blue went sliding passed him across the room, coming to an unsavory halt against the wall and hitting his head with a loud crack, which made everyone cringed at the sound. Zim blinked once or twice, just staring at the other co-Tallest … who was not moving. Zim sat up, ready to do a victory dance with his newly acquired eye, when he noticed that Blue hadn't gotten back up. In fact … he looked dead.

Zim was still for a moment as he watched blood drip down the side of his co-Tallest's mouth, his eyes got wide. Slowly, as if standing on cracking ice, the red Irken rose to his feet. "B-blue?"

No answer.

"Blue?" came Zim's voice again as he ran across the span, sliding to a halt at his other's side. "Blue?"

The ex-invader stared at his first and only companion for a moment feeling panic rise in his chest. What had he just done? The red Tallest reached forward and was about to start shaking the other violently, but stopped and rolled his eyes. Should have known. The Tallest quickly threw his head over to one of the advisors. He huffed and simply stated, "Bring Zim a soda."

Everyone, who had been staring at Blue's body, then stared at Zim.

The advisor swallowed. "Bu-but my Tallest, Blue just died or is dieing. We need to call the med drones!"

"Bring Zim a soda!"

The advisor blinked and then did as he was commanded, his fingers twitching as he handed the cup to his Tallest. Zim took the soda, taking a nice long swig before throwing the rest of the drink in Blue's face. A gasp escaped the "dead" form of Blue. Zim refrained a laugh.

"God damn it Zim!" came a wailing curse from the blue Irken as he sat up, clutching the back of his head. "What the hell … and what am I covered in, it's sticky."

Zim stiffened … those were not Irken curse words. Irk, it was happening too soon! The Tallest felt his innards tighten, paying no mind to the advisors that were flocking around Blue. Calm down, calm down. That's why you called Sizz-Lorr … if Blue can hold back Dib's memories, everything would be fine. He would not loose Blue.

With that thought, Zim rose to his feet, fingers twitching. He was going to wait to leave, but now it was a case of 'the sooner the better'. Besides, his ride was already here. Red eyes danced over to the fry cook and he smirked. The Tallest quickly glided away from the blue Tallest, who was struggling to escape his smothering advisors, and over to the bulking figure. The ex-invader smirked as he grinned down at the other being, using his hover belts to do a quick three-sixty to show proper dominance.

Sizz-Lorr merely glared, his eye twitching slightly. This was normal. The two beings weren't what a person would call companions. They were more like partners in crime, surviving each other in need more then want … not that anyone knew that except for each other and Dib. Not that Dib was completely there anymore.

"Hello, Sizz-Lorr. I take it Zim's ship is ready to go?" mocked the Tallest, throwing a weary glance over to Blue whom was being taunted by a med drone.

"Yes," Sizz-Lorr's voice dropped and he threw a weary look over in Blue's direction, "I take it Dib will not take no for an answer. I'll give him that, he never did know how to give up."

"No, he does not," stated Zim in a cold tone. The Tallest was silent for a moment, fingering the small jar in his hands. It was familiar in some way; maybe it was the same color as the brown earth which Dib had fought so hard to protect, or maybe it reminded him of those nasty brown hamburgers he loved so much, or perhaps, it reminded him of the eyes he once possessed.

Zim took one more longing look at the eye. Oh well, just as well's get it over with. Before the red Irken knew what he was doing, he had pulled Blue up by his armpit and away from their dotting "babysitters". Blue grumbled at the other as he clutched his newly bandaged head, hover belts kicking in so he could keep up with Zim and not worry about walking.

"I win again," mocked Zim as he glided into the hall, heading in the direction of their lodgings.

Blue merely grumbled about cheap shots and leaned a little more onto his co-ruler as a wave of dizziness hit him.

"Sore loser," murmured the true Irken as he came to a halt outside of Blue's room, his hover belts swaying from the sudden stop. The door opened with a soft hiss and Zim hastily swept over to the recharge bed. Blue didn't even have to be told as he slid down into the bed, hand still cupping the back of his head. Zim would pay for this.

"I want my eye," murmured Blue lazily as he put out his clawed hand while the other still clutched his head in a protective way.

"Whatever do you mean, Blue," mocked the red Irken as he reached for a cord in the back of the bed, leaning past Blue, but quick stab to his ribs made the red Tallest change his tune.

Zim yelped and withdrew from the bed for a moment rubbing his rib and thinking Blue wasn't done playing yet, but one good look at the other told him otherwise. Zim rolled his eyes and reached for the cord again, "Stop being a smeetling or I'll purposely put this in wrong."

Blue glared at the other, keeping the port to his pak closed. He wasn't going into sleep mode until after he had his eye; otherwise he might never see it again. The blue Tallest put out his hand again, "Give me the eye first."

Zim tried to not smile, Blue was acting like a smeetling … not that he really wasn't. Blue was young, not even thirty yet in human years, while Zim himself was about seven hundred years old. But that fact never bothered Zim; in fact, Blue's youth just show how truly ingenious he was. Sadly, he was the only one who could really admire his co-Tallest for this reason.

"Okay, fine, you can keep it to haunt you on your bedside while I'm gone. Irk, knows it's creepy enough. Probably will scare the advisors if you're lucky," murmured Zim as he leaned towards the surprised Irken, a soft click following after as he plugged in Blue's pak.

Blue stared at Zim in surprise, barely noting that his pak had just stared to shut down his systems for sleep and repair mode.

"You're leaving … how long? Wait, is there another Foodcourtia parade or something, because I promised I wouldn't try to drown you in the nacho cheese ever again," whine Blue. He'd never admit it, but he hated ruling the Massive when Zim went on one of his crazy ventures. It just felt wrong, like people weren't suppose to listen to him, yet, when Zim was off being his usual moronic self, all responsibilities were shifted over to Blue. That would then lead to the issue of conquering. A part of him wanted to jump out of his seat and hiss, "I'll stop you", but that wouldn't happen. He was a Tallest, an Irken, it was not his job to stop such things. It was in his species very nature to conquer. Only a defect would try to interrupt Impending Doom Two. The Irken race could not have a defect for a leader; so Blue just ignored such thoughts and ground his teeth till Zim came back. For some reason, the other Irken would calm this uneasy feeling … as if Zim belonged in his world … as if he had always been in it.

Zim growled at the mention of the cheese incident. It took him a long time to get over that nacho cheese phobia. "I'll be gone for a few days. There is something I need to … fix."

A silence fell over the room, except for the humming of Blue's pak, which was struggling to pull its owner into the sleep mode and working quite effectively as Blue was forced to lie down, eyes still on Zim.

Zim sighed internally for small favors. Here he was afraid that Blue would still be awake enough to interrogate him.

"Time for bed, sleeping beauty; may your eye keep you comfort," added Zim as he placed the jar on Blue's bedside, his eyes widening at the stupidity at using a human phrase so loosely. Quickly, he looked down at Blue, expecting to see the being grinning at him. No, _Dib_ grinning at him. His fears were quickly quenched as he watched Blue's eyes flicker beneath his eyelids. He was asleep, dwelling in his dreams.

With one more glance at the eye in the jar, which was staring accusingly at him, Zim swept out of the room, his robes shifting from the swiftness of his movement. Only once Zim was gone from sight did the eye seem to move of its own accord, turning in Blue's direction, wishing him _pleasant_ dreams.

XXX

Dib panted as he came up to Zim's side, not even noticing the strange frightened look that was presently on the other's face. Instead, the human leaned forward on his knees, struggling to get a good deep breath, but that was hardly what he got. In fact, he fell backwards onto his rump, gasping as a strange little blue-gray creature with horns stuck its face into his. It seemed giddy with excitement.

"What the hell is that?!" yelped Dib as he tried to crawl away from the thing as it started prodding at him with interest, poking at any human characteristics that still remained.

Zim forced a smile on to try and calm himself. He was just now noticing how sickly Dib looked. He'd been so hopeful, since Dib had agreed with him, that he hadn't looked to deeply into the extent the transformation had taken on the other; he'd try to be more careful. "That, oh paranoid one," Dib threw him a glare, "is that big scary Voritan I was talking about."

Dib stare at him in shock, but didn't have time to comment when the strange being suddenly pulled at the half-lings still developing antennae, making him tremble from the sensory overload.

"Interesting," commented the Voritan as he took a step back, taking in Dib's form completely. It was then that a frown formed on his face and he wearily threw a look up at Zim, "but there might be a slight problem."

Zim suddenly tightened, his fake grin disappearing as he looked away from his panicking half-ling, "What do you mean problem! The deal was clear, was it not? In exchange for the future freedoms of your species and your planet, you must provide recalibrations for my pak and provide one for Dib!"

"What?" cried Dib, staring at the other in horror as he struggled to breath. What was going on here? Zim never mentioned anything about him having to get one of those things. In fact, he had said he didn't want one. Sadly, the human couldn't state his distaste as he kneeled over in pain, claws digging into the dusty earth of planet Dirt. Damn, his lungs were on fire!

Of course, neither being noticed Dib's pain or his protest as they continued to murmur between themselves.

"That's not the problem!" hissed the Voritan as he looked around in a hurry to make sure no one had heard the Irken's outburst. Once his paranoia had been quenched the Voritan spoke again, but only in a whisper, "We have both, but there may be a slight problem … you never told us that this Dib person was so tall. It might mean complications."

"What kind of complications?" added Zim, his antennae falling flat against his head.

"I'm not sure yet … bring him in and we'll run some tests," added the Voritan in a worried tone, "and hurry. It looks like his body is about to give out due to stress."

A nod came from the Irken as he looked down at the other. He had noticed that Dib's breaths had just become shallow, meaning that his human lung were just about to give out. He didn't know that it would be this soon though.

The soft pounding of boots came to a quick halt at Dib's side, stirring up a small cloud of dust. Dib looked up at him, eyes half massed in exhaustion, but it was easy for Zim to tell that with each struggling breath, fear was building up inside Dib's mind. The human nearly clawed into him as Zim knelt down at his side. The Irken gave him a weary look before helping him to his feet, nearly carrying the other from his grip around his waist as he moved forward, following the Voritan to his lab.

…

"I will not … put … one of those … things on … my back," Dib gasped as Zim ducted his head to get inside the building where the Voritan was leading, throwing the two beings into a semi-darkness, the only light coming from little floor lights which were distanced about every two yards in the flooring.

Zim huffed, his facial features fading in and out of the darkness as they walked down the scarcely lit hall. "Please earth monkey, I mean Dib. Look at yourself. You are in no condition to be giving requests. Really, did you think that –"

The Irken didn't get to finish his rant when he was violently pushed away, Dib falling to the floor in a lump and Zim slamming against the opposing wall. The two beings panted for a moment, just staring at each other over the expanse of the hallway, both partially hidden in the darkness. The invader licked his lips and slowly pulled himself up, straightening his uniform as he looked down at his other and couldn't help but cringe internally. Dib was bleeding from the mouth. It was one of the signs that the ten minutes of doom had started. Damn.

"Dib… we don't have time for this. We need –"

"No!" hissed Dib as he pulled himself up into a sitting position, struggling for breath so he could speak, "this is what _you_ need, not what I want. In fact, this has nothing to do with my needs. I don't need or want a pak."

Dib licked his lips as if he was struggling to find the words before a sniffle regrettably escaped him. It was all becoming too much. He couldn't deal with this … any of this. Slowly, he looked Zim in the eye, hissing slightly as a tear rolled down his cheek, burning as it went, "I don't want it Zim, please."

Zim was silent for a moment, he felt sick. He never imagined he'd ever see Dib this pathetic. The human hadn't even been this desperate when he had been dying. The Irken intertwined his fingers and swallowed before stepping forward, leaning down on one leg, and grabbing the half-ling by the arm, "Dib, you need a pak. An Irken dies in less than ten minutes if they don't have a pak. Now, I promise it seems bad now, but it's better than dying."

Dib shook his head, pulling at his arm, but not really succeeding in freeing himself, "No, you don't understand. I-I can't."

Anger flashed though Zim's eyes and he squeezed on Dib's arm, earning a hiss from the other. They were running out of time and he didn't have time for this, "Why not? Do you want to die?! Do you want to die having accomplished nothing, leaving your people to suffer and proving them right? That you are worthless and-and, "Zim swallowed as his own sorrow started to show, "a defect."

Dib pulled his legs into himself and buried his head into the nook there, "No … I-I want to save them, but-but," Dib looked up at him and Zim couldn't help but notice that his milky white eyes were showing their first tints of color, "I'm scared. It's the last step Zim! There'll be nothing human left of me … nothing. And the moment my last bit of humanity is gone, I'll slowly forget everything; everything there was to being human … I'll forget who I am Zim."

The Irken was drawn back for a moment as he watched Dib's head bow down in defeat. That's not what he had expected and for some reason it shook him. Dib's greatest fear wasn't death, but forgetfulness, loss of self. Zim's antennae twitched at the realization. He knew this was a delicate situation now and the wrong actions could make Dib end up dead if he tried to run away. Now, the Irken way to deal with this was to slap him and tell him to get to his feet like a good soldier, but Dib wasn't an Irken; he was human and needed to be treated like one.

Slowly, the red Irken leaned forward, remembering something he had seen in a human park, when a female was trying to comfort her smeetling-child-thingy. Zim leisurely placed his forehead against Dib's and slowly pulled the half-ling's shoulders into a hug. He wasn't sure if he was doing this right, but when Dib didn't pull away Zim spoke, "I know you're scared … but it's okay. It'll be okay. Zim promises."

"But what if I forget everything," murmured Dib as he buried his head into Zim's neck, crying even harder, sick with himself for showing such weakness to his rival.

Zim bit back a hiss as the tears bit into his skin, but he still cupped the back Dib's head trying to sooth him like he had seen the human mother do. "Don't worry, everything will be fine one way or the other."

There was a moment of silence, just sniffles filling the darkened hall. Slowly, Dib pulled his head out of Zim's neck, staring down at the floor in shame for breaking down in front of his nemesis like that. He had managed to hold out through most of the transformation, yet here he was, crying over a simple operation.

"Why are you helping me Zim," came Dib's voice, slow and quiet and he continued to look at the floor, afraid to look up and see judgment.

Zim's eyes softened. For the longest time he had been questioning himself with the same question. Why? Well, he now knew. "Because you helped me … comforted me the moment the world crashed down around me. Come now with Zim, before you fall over dead."

Dib swallowed, fear still evident, but he didn't stop Zim as he helped him to his feet.

XXX

Paw07: Sigh. I put to much work into these chapters to merely be getting immature hate notes guys. Do you realize how much time and thought I put into these chapters?


	5. Pak

Chapter 5: Pak

XXX

Dib quickly found himself regretting his earlier words as a door appeared at the end of the hall. It was then that the calmness their bonding session had managed to create now evaporated: like light to the darkness. It was then that he realized that he couldn't do this … this was madness! He-he couldn't! The half-ling soon found himself trying to pull away, his limbs shivering ascent.

With a grunt, Zim merely tightened his grip around the other's middle, his claws digging into Dib's belly. Dib yelped, losing his grip on the wall, but he didn't give up. Soon his fingers were trying to loosen Zim's grip around his waist, whimpering escaping between his panicked breaths. The true Irken could only thank Irk that the half-ling's claws hadn't fully come in yet. But, despite his obvious struggles, Zim could not blame him. The Invader knew Dib was second guessing himself. He knew it wasn't because of the pain … it was because of the unknown.

"Come now Dib-worm. I know you are nervous, but fighting it is something you can do later. Now, I need you to start calming down. That's all, try to count your breaths … they are quick and shallow, and I need you to try and slow them down. Just count."

He sincerely wanted to listen to what Zim had said, but the moment they stepped through the door, into the Voritan's lab, his breath caught. The numbers stopped running in his head for a moment as his eyes jumped around the enclosure. It reminded him of one of Zim's labs, except the walls were made of what appeared to be dried dirt with light brown wallpaper covering the dirt where it could. It was shanty, like it was a lab meant for a battle field. In fact, it was easy to tell that the lab had been in use for a long time. The wear and tear was evident on the tools, multiply used with broken pieces adorning unused shelves like a collection.

Yet, despite the definite third-world décor the lab had going for itself, the lighting was what bothered him. It was dim in the room, the lights all pushed up into the corners of the walls, save for a few tentacle lamps over desks … but that wasn't the issue. The issue was the brightest light of them all, which hung tauntingly over a metal examination table. It had crude metallic arms hanging above it with none to friendly of tips.

But, before Dib could further protest, heaviness suddenly formed in his lungs and his breathing stopped all together. The Halfling's eyes widened and he quickly reached for his throat. His panic only increased as he felt his throat. It was as if his throat had just swollen up. Before Dib could properly think it over, or panic for that matter, he pushed away from his support and fell to the floor on his knees. Tears were streaming down his eyes as he clawed at his throat, trying to regain even the smallest of breaths.

The Voritan fiddling with the pak on a nearby table and cursed. He threw a look towards Zim who was now leaning over the Halfling, trying to get him to release his grip on his throat.

"What took you so long in the halls?" growled the Voritan as he slammed the pak shut.

Zim immediately glared at the scientist, his eyes saying the threat for him.

The scientist sighed and pulled his goggles back over his eyes as he walked over towards the examination table, pak in hand, "never mind. Get him on the table and strap him down; I won't have time to administer a sedative."

Dib shivered at the scientists words, but wasn't able to pull away as Zim effortlessly threw him over his shoulder and quickly got him over to the table with effortless grace. The Irken then set Dib on the chilling surface, ripping an arm from the ceiling and grabbing Dib's chin, stilling his head.

"Calm down, I'm just going to put this into your neck so you can get oxygen to your systems," murmured Zim as he turned Dib's head so he would barely see the needle end, which quickly appeared. Zim didn't wait another moment before stabbing the tool into Dib's neck. The human silently yelped and tried to pull the offending object out by moving his head. The Invader merely gripped griped his head tighter, keeping the Halfling still.

"I have inserted a breather into his throat," added Zim, taking a breath and pulling away to start his next task. He slapped Dib's hand away as the human tried to raise his fingers to feel his throat.

"Don't get calm too soon; his blood still isn't being filtered so hurry and restrain him to the table, on his belly. He might receive some type of brain damage or organ damaged if too much waste builds up in his body," added the scientist as his form stepped into a lift which hovered over the examination table, a pak in hand. Dib stared at him for a moment, eyes wide with a look of betrayal as Zim removed his shirt.

The invader gave no excuse to the Halfling as he pushed him down onto the table, his belly against the cold steel as a collection of restraints raised from the table like hands from the grave. Dib nearly bucked when he felt something sharp prick against his back. Yet, that sharp feeling was nothing compared to when he felt two cold hands trace down his back, feeling each bone and muscle under the skin, but, despite the panic running through his veins, Dib bit his lip and laid his forehead against cold steel. He'd survive this … it was only pain. He'd survive this; it was only pain. He'd survive this, and get revenge.

"Well, he has a larger and more solid bone structure then you guys, but I doubt that that will hinder in the pak's attachment to his spine," said the Voritan calmly as he traced his fingers up and down his spine, "give me a scalpel. The thickened spine might confuse the pak during attachment, so we'll make an entry hole for it."

Dib nearly jumped out of his skin the next time someone touched his back. The cool voice of the Voritan quickly followed, "Now, this will only be a pinprick … the worst his yet to come."

With a soundless whimper, Dib dug his claws into the metal of the table and pressed his head against the metallic table. Its only pain; it only pain. Its only pain … his heart had suffered worse.

A flinch escaped him despite the warning as the blade dug into his skin, every muscle in his back tightening as he felt the warmth of blood pool around the edges of the wound. Then he nearly jumped out of his skin the moment the cool metal of the pak laid against his back. A grinding noise from his teeth was all he was allowed as protest; given that his lungs were momentarily useless … Dib was sure he wouldn't be allowed the simple right of screaming when the pak attached itself.

"We need to keep his spine as still as possible, hold his head and neck still" added the Voritan as he placed his hand over the pak, ready to activate it, a small smile forming on his lips. He knew the specimen before him was not an Irken, but he would still take some pleasure from watching it tremble and silently scream in agony … it was the least he deserved for all that had been brought onto his people by the Irkens. But, if this plan truly worked, he'd never have to worry about the Irkens again.

Zim silently did as he was asked, and Dib wished he had at least he lung power to whimper as he heard a click come from the pak. There was a moment's stillness, a building tension, and then half a dozen little tentacles climbed out of the pak. They seemed to run over Dib's back, as if tasting it. Then, the little limbs were still for a moment as if contemplating their next action. Dib was ready for the shock as the little tentacles started to crawl into the hole in his back all at once, tearing the skin in order to get deeper access. Warmth soon covered his back as blood pooled down his sides and onto the table. Silent screams escaped Dib's lips as he tried to struggle against the grip of the restraints of the table, yet his strength soon wavered as he felt the tentacles start of wrap around his spine column. He quickly buried his head into the table, tears running down his face as a cracking noise filled the room, the tentacles weaving into the very bone.

Yet, before Dib could throw his head back to cry another silent scream, the pain was suddenly dulled, his entire back going numb. He slumped heavily against the table, his eyes lazily staring at the claw marks he had created in the metal. He could still scarcely remember doing so, but now his mind was all fuzzy and warm, like something was slowly pressing itself into his psyche. There it pulled his pain away as it crawled into the deepest catacombs of his mind, logging and entering data as it made itself at home.

The Voritan titled his head as Dib's struggling became still, his breath returning. His fingers were quickly upon the pak, pressing a switch so it bared its inners to him. The scientist stood on his tiptoes to get a better view of the pak's inner workings, soft red light playing over the features of his face and goggles. Zim wasn't far behind in checking out the pak's workings.

With a sigh, the scientist pulled away, matching Zim's glance, "The pak seems to have noticed its owner's distress. It has administered sedatives to deal with the pain of its entry as well as its continued work in integrating itself and removing any foreign bodies … or in this case, any traces of the specimen's human organs that still remain."

Zim nodded and ran his fingers lightly over the pak, his mind calming. For the briefest of seconds, he was sure Dib was going to die, but … that hadn't happened. Nothing, not even death, could separate him from his adversary … his competition … his enemy … his teacher … his fellow defective. Dib was _his_ companion, even if he didn't know it yet.

"What's the sigh for then? I know it's not because everything is perfect," murmured Zim as he stood up straight, crossing his arms over his chest as his as his antennae fell back against his head.

The Voritan glanced upward, drawing his fingers out of Dib's pak, "You'd be correct in that assumption," the shorter being looked at the pak's readings one more time before giving Zim an apathetic look, "but it could be worse."

"But it's not good either," growled the Invader as he desperately tried to keep the rage out of his voice. It would do no good for his pak to read his stress signals and target the Voritan as a threat. He needed the slagger alive … as much as that fact distressed him.

"Like I said," murmured the scientist as he pulled a thick cord out of the collection of wires above the slab Dib was one, sticking it into the pak with a sickening clicking noise, "could be worse. But never fear … you can fix it."

Zim glared at the Voritan's failed attempt at human at humor. Apparently there was a vid collection floating around of some of Zim's earlier, more retarded, hails. They were highly sought after and apparently considered one of the best comedy collections this side of the universe. When he finally got his power, the first thing he was going to do was destroy every last copy of his ... dumber days; to put it lightly.

Gritt made it an obligation to get in as many earth jibes as he could before the very mention of earth was banded, because by the look on Zim's face, that would probably be happening soon.

"How do I fix it, Gritt? Do I go out and get a carbonator from a Buick or what?"

Gritt, in all his Voritan knowledge, was stumped, "A Buick … is that like a type of Irken medical device?"

Zim could only laugh; his voice bouncing off the walls has Dib's pak pulled him into a forced stasis.

…

It was easy to say that his laughter from earlier quickly died, but that was just how the real world was he supposed; it would allow you one moment of happiness just to painfully thrust you to the ground like a coconut from a tree … a tree that had just happened to have cement planted around the entire circumference of the trunk.

Well … at least he wasn't full of nasty white milky gooey earth juices.

Zim sighed and buried his head in his hands. He so did not want to do this and when he said so, he meant so! He'd rather cut off an antenna and be half blind for the rest of his life than do this. Really, he'd do it. He'd do it without any type of painkiller and with a rusty hedge clipper to boot, just so he wouldn't have to do this.

The Irken sighed, a very human characteristic he had sadly hijacked due to too much 'human watching'. Slowly, despite the pleas of his innards, he dialed the hail frequency … regretting it before anyone even answered. But he had to do this … he had to do this for Dib and himself. Irk, here he had thought that Dib's height would be nothing but pro, but no! That would just be too easy wouldn't it? Irk forbid if something went his way once in his miserable life.

The fourth hail went through and Zim physically cringed when a face appeared on the other side, shock on his face as his hat tilted slightly to the left, "Zim …. ZIM! When I get my hands on you I'm going too …"

Yet, the character's anger was quickly replaced with a dread filled look … if an Irken could go pale, he was that, "Yo-you're dead. The Tallest had you squished." The Irken, quickly pulled away from the screen, placing a hand over his forehead, "I have food poisoning don't I?"

"You and I both," grumbled Zim as he slouched forward. Dying would have been easier than what he was about to do, "Now, from one outcast to the other … I have a business deal for you. I will no longer be underfoot … and neither do you."

Sizz-Lorr had always been an Irken of few facial expressions, but today's was the first time he had been angry, then shocked, and then for the first time in a long time … happy, "I'm listening dead man."

… Zim really hated that vid collection.

XXX

Blue sat silently in his Tallest's chair, a look of distaste on his face as he played with his jarred eye once more. It had been several day cycles since Zim had disappeared, and frankly, Blue was getting annoyed. Now, he always considered himself the brains of the operation, but not a conqueror. So it was unnerving when an Invader would call every other hour to report something or ask for supplies. It had never occurred to the Tallest just how much work Zim really did.

But, despite his obvious annoyance, there was something else, like a whisper in the back of head. It spoke no words, but for some reason, its presence told him he felt a little lighter about having his co-leader gone. It was like a feeling of opportunity … like guard was no longer standing in front of his cell. He was able to escape now. Blue's unknown smile quickly disappeared as that old feeling of confusion crept back into his pak … escape from what?

"My Tallest?"

The current Tallest stopped dwelling on the feeling and looked down to see a shorter Advisor; the shortest and newest Advisor, in fact. Blue believed his name was Ta-boo, yet he was not about to address him by name. Zim always found it faintly disturbing that Blue remembered everyone's names. He said that a Tallest shouldn't remember such lowly servants. Only high ranking officers and Invaders deserved such individual attention from a Tallest.

_But Zim isn't here … now is he?_

Blue's antennae twitched at the inner realization, but that didn't worry him. This voice and thought felt familiar … like going home after a very long time of being gone.

"Yes, Ta-boo?"

The small Irken twitched, his head coming out of its bow as he stared at his Tallest with wide, shocked eyes. His expression was easily matched by the curious and even surprised looks of the rest of the staff in the room, even Sizz-Lorr. Remembering the newest, not to mention shortest Advisor, was like remembering the servant who had just served the Tallest's drink … it just didn't happen.

"Is there something wrong, Ta-boo?" added Blue, a grin forming on his face at the looks on their faces. It was nice not to feel constricted. Maybe, having Zim gone for a few days wasn't such a bad idea after all.

The Advisor stuttered, before he nervously pulled at his robes and looked to the floor, murmuring, "Y-you know my name, sir?"

Blue put on the soft reassuring smile that he usually wore when talking to some of the more … dishearten … members of the species, "Well, of course. I know all your names … every single one of you in the room. Why wouldn't I?"

A choking noise escaped Sizz-Lorr as he stared at Blue in shock. Yet, his look was nothing compared to the look of the pilots that were just below him, or the Advisors. It was rich … it was always a treat in Blue's mind to catch his people off guard. In fact, with all the odd things he'd thrown their way, he was surprised he still could catch any of the regular workers off guard.

A soft chuckle escaped the ruler as the lock-jawed expression remained on Ta-boo's face. Slowly, Blue leaned forward in his chair, as if he were speaking to a child, "What is it that you wanted, anyway?"

The small Irken, tilted his head and he seemed to struggle with his vocals for a moment before murmuring, "Well, I was informed that Tallest Zim was to know if we received any clues to the whereabouts of any resistance groups."

Blue cocked his head and was about to give a command when a shadow over fell him. The Tallest tipped his head up and glanced at Sizz-Lorr for a moment as if daring him to interrupt. The ex-cook merely tightened his lips and said nothing. Blue tried not to smirk at the small victory. Sizz-Lorr was Zim's unofficial babysitter/guard dog for Blue. He had just always been there, yet, despite his obvious guard dog appearance, Blue respected him. It was like they had once seen battle together once. So, regardless of his obvious intentions, Blue would allow him to voice his opinions … later.

"You mean the Resisty? Please, they are a helpless assemblage of fools since the Voritan's abandoned them," murmured Blue, his once tightened posture loosening to a slouch and his fingers slowly stretching for a drink at his side.

Sizz-Lorr tightened as he threw a glare at the Advisor since he knew what he was about to say, but the shorter being pretend not to see his venomous glare and merely kept his sights on his Tallest. Ta-boo didn't think much of Sizz-Lorr, even though he was somewhat a high official in Zim's cabinet. He had no idea why … Zim seemed to barely be able to tolerate the other, yet he gave him so much power, even giving him the great privilege of private meetings within Zim's quarters. And no one had any idea what they talked about … and no one dared ask.

"No, my Tallest," came Ta-boo, "it is the Ark."

Blue opened his mouth, about to say something, but stopped. He had never heard of this group, but for some reason it crept up his spine, leaving a chilling feeling in his bones, "The Ark … I don't recall that group."

Not good, not good, not good! Was all Sizz-Lorr could think as he looked at Blue's expression. He was supposed to keep Dib from re-emerging while his other half was gone, but that was from himself. Zim had no idea what an actual, physical, outside stimulus would do to his mind. That was why he and the rest of the original group had gone out of their way to destroy every clue that remained of Dib's old life. They destroyed Earth, removed all proof of the planet's existence from Irken files, and deleted Zim's conquering tapes. Personally, Sizz-Lorr thought that one was personally more for himself than for Blue's sake. Yet, despite all their efforts … one thing remained. The Ark. Zim had actually given him his own squad in order to eradicate the force; and he would be after them right now, taking care of the Ark, but he had to babysit 'Dib'.

He definitely had to stop this.

Ta-boo's antennae went straight up in the air, "H-haven't heard of them? My Tallest … b-but they are one of our top priorities! They are dangerous, cunning, and revenge seeking. Their leader will stop at nothing. He and his followers, despite their small numbers, have interrupted countless invasions, destroyed numerous Invaders, and … made it a personal vendetta to destroy the Tallest. In fact, that's Sizz-Lorr's top priority when he isn't consulting you or Red."

Blue blinked once or twice. He did not know about that … why the hell didn't he know about this! Why the nerve of it all. If someone was threatening the empire, no matter how small, he was supposed to know. And Sizz-Lorr … that bastard. He had asked him once why, as a general, his ship wasn't with the Armada like the rest of the generals. Yet, the lying cheat said that it was nothing important; just some odd jobs Zim sent him on.

A growl escaped Blue, a strange sound that made all of the Advisors turn their heads from whatever conversation they were having. The beings' exchanged worried glances and then sent a glare at the youngest member of their group, Ta-boo, thinking he was the culprit. The shortest of the Advisors cringed under their gaze, but the attention was quickly diverted when Blue was suddenly to his feet and glaring down at Sizz-Lorr.

The large Irken took a surprised step backward as he looked into those angry orbs. It shocked him … that was not a characteristic of Blue, but Dib. He promised to remember that look in Dib's face forever … it was the last expression offered to him before _Dib_ had gone away and Blue had begun.

"M-my Tallest?" murmured the ex-fry cook as he felt his instincts kick in, "I can explain," the Irken looked around, noticing all the attention, "Perhaps in private at least."

"Yes, _your_ Tallest. Your leader, lord, and master," he leaned in close, "and perhaps you would like to explain to me and everyone else, in the control room, why you have only informed one of your Tallests about this threat?"

Sizz-Lorr's antennae fell hard against his head as all eyes fell on him … but it was Blue's eyes that truly captured him. He was disappointed. Now, Sizz-Lorr would never admit it to Zim, but he did have a particular liking for Blue/Dib. The ex-human had qualities that an Irken could never hope to ascertain. Curiosity, hope, forgiveness, cunning, sarcasm, and kindness. He was a good leader. He cared about his people. He even suffered for his people … no Tallest had ever done that. They were generally greedy people. Blue … he hated conquering, but he did it with a high chin if only for his peoples continued survival.

The commander found himself bowing, "I-I am sorry my Tallest. I-it's just that his Tallest Zim … ask me not to tell you."

Blue's eyes went wide in shock as he stared at the form at his feet. Zim … his close companion … had lied to him? W-why? Zim might have been irritating, loud mouthed, and a bit trigger happy, but he always told Blue the truth. H-he was Blue's best friend. When no one was around, the two of them would merely sit in their chambers watching old Invader reports about superstitions from other planets. It was easy to say, that Zim knew Blue better than he was sure he knew himself.

And for some reason … it hurt. He trusted Zim … he trusted him with his very life.

Blue's antennae dropped and his eyes drew downward in a sad expression as he looked downward at Sizz-Lorr, "Why would he ask that of you?"

Sizz-Lorr merely gave his saddened Tallest a begging look. He could not tell. Blue's shifted, a wanting to disappear suddenly filling his gut … was he the weakest of the two leaders, wasn't he? Blue swallowed, biting his tongue slightly to keep the estranged emotion he was feeling at bay. It was weakness for an Irken leader to show such weakness. So what if Zim had kept something from him … he would no longer.

The towering figure threw a hard look at his pilots and with a wave of his hand, said coolly, "Hail Tallest Zim. I believe him and I have some words."

The pilots all cringed but quickly started to do as they were told. All they could do was silently thank Irk that Zim wasn't personally here or there would be a fight of the ages boiling.

"Hailing Tallest Zim. Transmission received in three, two –

The screen suddenly blinked to life before the pilots could call out three and Blue threw a glare to the screen, mouth open, ready to hiss his demands, when his eyes went wide. It was not red eyes glaring back at him, but cold emotionless goggles. The two beings stared at each other for a still moment, and when Blue opened his mouth ready to demand who the hell he thought he was interrupting a Tallest call; the figure spoke, his deep voice resonating in hatred.

"Tallest Blue," came that deep voice that sent a shiver through his form, "I don't believe I've have the pleasure. My name is Professor Membrane … and I'm going to kill you."

XXX

Paw07: Not much to say … just tired, and to clear up everyone's confusion: this is not a Dib/Zim slash, but, for you fans, if you squint you might see something.


	6. Father of Mine

Chapter 6: Father of Mine

XXX

Professor Membrane, Commander Membrane now, still had dreams about his lost son. It was like a ghost that would rise to the surface whenever his mind had wished to rest and slumber. Membrane couldn't rest, so why should he allow the murder of his first born rest? The only time he would be able to allow his head to fall upon his pillow in complete happiness was when he killed that bastard. He would never rest until he killed ZIM.

Oh Chemistry, how he hated that name. Once upon a time, on a planet long since lost, that name would bring a small chuckle or a smile behind his collar. Zim had been his son's strange 'alien' friend. Now, it had been an odd friendship with those two constantly playing spy games or war, but Dib seemed somewhat content. Now, at the time, Membrane was sad to say he was rather disappointed in this choice by his son. At the time, he didn't mind Dib's new friend in the purpose of being a friend, but it bothered him that his son's little friend seemed to be dragging his boy farther and farther from science.

Yes, then there was science.

It was funny really, that once he lost his son, just how illogical the whole logic of science seemed. It was then in the rain of fire, screams of the dying and conquered, that he realized just who he was creating all this science for. At first it had been for himself but later on it seemed for his children's sake. He wanted them to have a future … he wasn't sure how else to express his feelings to them. He had always been a person of beakers and formulas, to extract that same feeling but onto a person, he wasn't exactly sure as how to do that. There were no natural undeniable laws, no recipes, no positive yeses or noes … just a whole lot of maybes. It was by pure miracle that the two children were created at all.

Though, it seemed that he had failed in that matter just like one would fail in letting an experiment set unattended. Sooner or later the beaker would grow hot and break or the contents would explode. He should have been paying attention to his family; it was an experiment … it was his life and despite losing Earth nothing had the same effect as to when he found out his son had no gotten onto one of the evacuation ships.

He didn't remember much after find that out, but one of his assistance told him, in a shivering voice, what he had done. Apparently, Membrane was silent for a long time after the news, his breaths slow and barely audible; then with a rage he tried to escape to one of the smaller ships onboard, crying they were wrong, that his son was tuff, and that his boy wasn't dead. Dib couldn't be dead … son's were supposed to bury their fathers.

Membrane did recall coming to out of his temporary madness a few days later, strapped to a medical bed like some kind of mad dog. For a few minutes he just laid there, jacket and goggles removed and leaving him barren and wide open for all to see. His eyes dulled as he tried to think of why he was here in this bunk. Yet, while his mind tried to come up with the calculations or formulas as to why he was there, the patter of petite feet made him drag his half glazed brown eyes towards the ghost lingering at his side.

"_Hi dad."_

_The man blinked, not use to the world without viewing it through his goggles, and the blurry form of his son disappeared into the form of his daughter within a second. For a second he stared at her. For some reason all he could do was watch her his lips, unresponsive._

"_You know," said the girl as she stood there, her usual angry demure lost to redden eyes as if maybe she had been sad. Wait? What? He didn't know his daughter well, but he did know she didn't cry. Even when she was a baby she didn't cry. _

"_I never noticed … that you cared. I mean actually cared. It just seemed more like we were items; we meant little to you but we were still your cute toys to drag out to your big openings. I was so desperate for you attention, to know that you cared, that I started to act out … I became cold. You know what, father. I started to believe that you didn't know how to love or what love was. But when you acted that way for Dib … I … I."_

_A tear rolled down her face and the girl quickly dropped his head in order to hide any essence of her emotions. Her small hands – hands like her mother he noticed now that she was getting older - were quickly pulled into fists of shivering rage._

"_Father … do I have to die like Dib for you to show me any love?"_

_She had disappeared out of the room before his lips even dared to move._

That had seemed like years now since his daughter had cried. He did what he could for her, but in the end it always felt like an obligation to Dib more than anything. He could barely look at his only child without the memory of his son returning. There was a hole in his heart. He had learned to love only as soon as it was able to hurt.

He wanted to give a hole to Zim's heart so they could match. Both broken monsters.

But, Invader's didn't love or have family. For the longest time the Professor wavered as the small hoard of surviving ships struggled to find a new home. It was then, when madness threatened to consume him, that he realized that Zim didn't need to have a heart to hurt him. An Invader's love lied in his kingdom.

So he'd burn it down.

And that worked for a while, but it seemed that Zim did have a heart, his partner Blue. In fact, the entire Empire loved their dearest Blue if they knew it or not. That was why; when a spy said that they had seen Tallest Zim wandering the alleys of Planet Dirt … he knew he had his chance. The Irkens would feel their very first sorrow and how truly bitter it would be.

"Tallest Blue," came Membrane's voice as he struggled not to grin with satisfaction, his thirst about to be quenched. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure. My name is Professor Membrane … and I'm going to kill you."

…

Blue wanted to draw back in a growl of surprise, yet he found himself still, gawking. His eyes widened another inch, something slamming in the back of his mind telling him to look, look, see, see! What was he supposed to see? What was he supposed to see?

"Not the conversation type, are we, Tallest Blue," said Professor Membrane as he leaned back into his chair, his goggles glinting even though most of his form was now hidden in shadows. "I must admit I'm surprised. You seem to be nothing like Zim. He would have been in a fit if I was so forward with him; hitting buttons where ever he may, but you … you are the calm silent type. I respect that."

Blue tired to pull his mind to the present even though it was practically screaming at him to remember, remember, remember! Ugh, remember what?

"But," continued Membrane as he moved his finger towards a button to his side. "I'm still going to kill you."

A wicked laugh escaped the attacker's throat as his finger fell upon the button; the ship seemed to rock from the very action. Then, in a cause and effect, a ray of light which resembled a waking star formed in front of the ship. The Ark's back engines suddenly kicked in and for a second the pilot's cried, 'He's going to ram us!' but just the opposite happened. The light was a canon - an electromagnetic canon - which nearly sent the ship sailing backwards in a backlash.

"It's an electromagnetic pulse!"cried Sizz-Lorr to everyone in the room. "Turn off your paks! Tell everyone to turn off their paks before it hits us! The pak will die if it's online!"

Screams of panic and stumbling feet filled the room as each member stopped what they were doing to try and assist other members' offline their paks. Blue merely stood there, eyes wide as he watched panic and teamwork overtake his bridge. A what? Turn off his pak? Blue didn't remember a lot of his earlier days, but he knew the 'ten minutes of doom' rule as Zim called it. An invader did not just 'turn off their pak' unless they had some kind of death wish. Yet, here were most of the members of his bridge turning off their life source. T-this was utter madness. True, Blue had just heard of this enemy but could they truly be so frightful that his soldier's obeyed without question.

"My Tallest," came Sizz-Lorr's voice, dragging the leader from his frozen state by grabbing Blue's arm pulling and pulling him towards himself. "Hold still. I'll get your pak for you."

There wasn't even time to disagree as the large alien's hand slid onto Blue's pak with far too much ease letting the taller Irken know that the general had pulled off this action far too many times. Not that Blue really got to think about it when his body was suddenly slammed into self sufficiency, his knees collapsing from the sudden stress. Sizz-Lorr didn't miss a beat as he fell with his leader into a crouch, placing himself as a living shield over his master in order to protect the leader from the shock of the hit. After all, what use was an energy shield against a weapon which shorted out the technology that created the shield? Not much, Sizz-Lorr knew from experience. The first time that human had used that weapon … his forces had been devastated.

When the attack finally hit home base, the impact made the entire ship shiver, electricity suddenly jumping throughout the entire ships form like a flood. Then, as if a sonic boom had befallen the inner guts of the ships, every piece of glass, consuls and lighting, exploded from the sudden surge of energy … and the ship went dark, the darkness consuming every being within.

For a moment, Blue didn't do anything; he was just still with his lungs struggling to work on their own. The silence didn't last long, soon commands were erupting from the pilots' den, and the medical drones were rising to their feet and running to other Irken's throughout the base that hadn't been able to turn off their pak's fast enough. And then there was this warmth that dripped down onto Dib's arm that made his eyes snap open and look. There was blood dripping down from below. With a grunt, Blue was about to push the larger being off and see if he was killed in action, protecting his lord. Surprisingly, the mountain moved and the sound of shifting glass soon filled Blue's ears as the bulky form that had been protecting him rose out of the shielding ball, his eyes scanning the room before he looked back down at Blue to see if his leader had been injured. Sizz-Lorr's eyes widened when he saw the blood staining his Tallest's robes.

"Were you injured? Remain still, I will get a medical drone," said Sizz-Lorr in almost a panic as he tried to rise to his feet.

Blue merely put out a hand, stopping the moving mountain.

"I'm fine. It's your blood," said Blue as he stared at the blood dripping down the side of Sizz-Lorr's head. He took his hand and was about to touch the wound to see its depth when the larger being rose to his feet with a look that could be compared to little more than embarrassment. Shaking his head at the other's unwant for help, Blue took a shivering breath with his week lungs, glad one of his best generals weren't dead. That worry gone, he had a new problem: control the chaos. Placing his hands so that he could lift himself without getting cut, Blue started to rise to his feet, yet as he rose to his full stance, dizziness overcame him.

Quickly noticing his leader's distress, Sizz-Lorr put out a hand to still the leader and stop him from falling on his face. He had seen the reaction far too many times not to expect it. Offlining pak's could be a very disorienting process. Gripping his Tallest's thin arm, Sizz-Lorr then proceeded in helping his high leader to his chair, stopping to push the glass off the seat before allowing his commanding officer to sit.

Blue sat there a moment, his breath coming in shallow gasps as he gripped the chair arm tightly to stop himself from falling out. His head seemed to be pounding and the ship seemed to be spinning. The Halfling couldn't help but bring a clawed hand up to his forehead and try to rub away this new growing agony. Irk, he felt like he was going to puke.

"Sit for a moment, my Tallest. The first time an Irken off-lines their paks it can be … disorienting, especially for someone of your size my lord. Smaller Invader's systems have less mass to deal with so their systems aren't as dependant on their paks," said Sizz-Lorr as he stood over a pained Blue for a moment, trying to wipe some blood out of his eyes as he looked over this lord once more to make sure the only true distress was from turning off his pak. "Just bare with us since there are still residual remnants of that blast bouncing around in the ship, we can't turn our paks on for at least five minutes."

Blue struggled to listen to the high officer's words and to push back this buzzing that had formed in his ears.

"Yes, yes. Start a status report – ugh – and have every available hand getting us operational. Anyone who didn't manage to offline there pak should report to the medical bay immediately; I don't want my medical drones spread out. I also want that–that man. Professor Membrane. I want him alive and in my brig. He will pay for this personally."

Blue then allowed a pained hiss to come through his lips as that name bounced around in his head; the buzzing all but exploding in his head. Images suddenly slamming into his head making the Leader clutch his head as something flashed before him.

"_Dad? Can you leave the lab for a moment? I want to play baseball like the other kids."_

_A glint of goggles suddenly looked downward._

"_Sorry son, SCIENCE comes first. Maybe later."_

Blue all but lurched forward when the memory was complete, clutching his head with such ferocity with both his hands that he was drawing blood with his claws.

"My Tallest, are you alright," came Ta-boo as he appeared in Blue's downcast vision, his breath coming in short gasps as he struggled to work without his pak's assistance. He had been heading to the pilots' den since he had significant knowledge in that field, but it was hard not to notice his Tallest's suffering. His Tallest came before the ship's needs; there were enough pilots anyway.

"Yah," gasped the Irken leader as blood started to drip past his cheek from his head. "It's just that my head is hurting me something awful. J-just follow the directive. I-I'll be fine for the time being."

"Yes sir," said the small Advisor as he rushed off, stumbling on his own robes in a hurry to assist the pilots' den, his gaze threatening to fall back towards his lord and master.

"Are you sure, my Tallest," said Sizz-Lorr as he leaned down slightly, a nervousness rising in his chest. Tallest Blue seemed to be in a lot of agony, his head to be exact. Now, Zim had never come out and said it, but with him fishing around in Blue's pak whenever Dib made himself known, Sizz-Lorr had a feeling that Blue's pak was what was keeping Dib from reemerging.

Bu-but what choice did he have? Was he supposed to allow his Tallest to die? Zim would rather have to deal with a hysterical Dib and suspicious crew than have a dead Blue, right? Besides in five minutes the pak would be switched back on and everything would be okay … right? Ugh, five minutes wasn't coming fast enough.

"Yes!" Blue all but snapped at the other as he turned to glare at him, his green blood now dripping onto his Tallest robe. "Now act like the general you are and tell me the fastest way to kill or capture that bastard."

Sizz-Lorr drew back slightly, not shocked about being yelled at, but the fact that Blue just used a human cuss word. Irk, not good. What was he supposed to do? Should he turn Blue's pak back on and risk it, or should he call Zim? What was he supposed to –

"Just don't stand there," said Blue, now starting up at the standing being, "get moving."

Sizz-Lorr blinked, his insides trembling as he turned to the pilots' den. He was nervous for a moment. Any other Tallest would be embarrassed if anyone other than them yelled out demands about the ship's controls. Yet, here was Blue, his pride not even noted. The Halfling was making a personal sacrifice; he wasn't doing this for himself, but he was defending the people on this ship. Swallowing his nervousness, Sizz-Lorr threw a hand out and started calling commands out as if it were his own ship and it was any other battle with the Ark. Only this time he had some huge guns and his Tallest was sitting next to him. He wouldn't dare take an eye off his leader, especially with the way the other was clutching at his head as if in pain.

Blue sat there, listening to his general call out commands as he felt blood drip down the side of his head. Yet, despite the growing wound, he couldn't remove his claws, his head hurt so much! Then there were these whispers and-and images that were slamming themselves into his psyche. Where were these things coming from? Was he truly so much of a defective he couldn't even go a minute without his pak without going mad? Taking a breath, the leader tried to press the images to the back of his mind and concentrate on Sizz-Lorr's attack tactic, but an image of-of Membrane suddenly stood before him like a ghost, looking down at him with his goggles removed and a faint smile on his face. Blue couldn't help but draw back slightly in a gasp, no one else seeming to notice the human before their Tallest.

"_It's okay that the experiment didn't work, Dib. We'll try again. I'm so proud that you are so young and showing an interest in science already."_

"_Daddy, science is fun! It's like magic."_

"_No silly, magic isn't real but science is genuine."_

Blue was suddenly to his feet, his eyes wide as he stared at the place where Membrane had just been standing. It wasn't the man in his image that scared him though. It-it was the smeetling like being and its voice; it sounded l-like his voice? B-but he wasn't … Dib.

Sizz-Lorr's nervousness had faded away into nothingness, his knuckles turning white as he kept his hands into fists. He was going to take down Membrane. He was going to kill that being. He promised to make it quick though. It was the least he could do for the being that had been the sire of Dib. He'd still be in a food drone if it wasn't for the human's intelligence. Yes, he'd use the two main guns to get rid of him, quick and effective. But before he did that, he threw a look back at his Tallest, Sizz-Lorr's tongue stilling. Why did Blue look petrified? Was something -

A scream of agony suddenly echoed over the room making every pair of antennae in the room stand up on end. Sizz-Lorr eyes grew wide as he watched the petrified look turn into one of horror as the taller being rose to his feet, gripping his head as if he was in the throes of madness. Yet, that was nothing compared to the clear stuff dripping from his Tallest's eyes, another scream escaping the leader as he continued to clutch his head as if in tremendous pain. Then with one final cry Blue went silent, his lids flickered shut before he collapsed with a heavy thud to the floor.

The room was silent as every pair of eyes in the room fell on their collapsing lord.

Suddenly, Nave ran over to Tallest Blue, abandoning his post to pull Blue into his arms as if he were a fallen brother. For a moment, the interrogator looked at his master's face in horror. His leader seemed to be breathing, but his eyes were dull and there was something dripping from them. Nave moved his fingers forward to touch this clear liquid dripping from his lord's eyes and nearly drew away with a yip, smoke dripping from his fingers. For a second Nave tried to come up with a conclusion as to what that was but at the moment he couldn't care; he had been nearly tackled by one of the Advisors.

"What happened?" cried on to the taller advisors as he leaned down and tried to support his Tallest's head. "What!"

"I don't know!" said Nave in all but scream, worry rising to his chest. It was a strange feeling, one he had noticed steadily growing since Blue had started; he seemed to care about his Tallest Blue in a level far beyond any point he had felt for any other Tallests. Maybe it was because of the time he had been on the ship and all the other Tallest he had served, Blue had actually been the first to ask his name.

The advisor with almost black red eyes - Nave believed him to be one of the oldest Advisors by the name of Dimm - looked at him with what seemed to be horror. Slowly, Dimm glared at Sizz-Lorr, his voice dripping with venom, "Did you turn off his pak properly?! Sizz-Lorr did you turn off his Tallest's pak?"

pak …

pak …

"How's your pak feel my little lab rat?"

Dib's eyes suddenly opened as he was dragged from his slumber. For a moment, he stared at the goggled eyes staring at him. Despite the sudden pleas to be still from the short form beside him, Dib forced himself to sit up. It was then that the whole occurrence slammed back to him as he managed to sit up. With shivering fingers, the Halfling reached backwards, his fingers pulling away sharply and his breath catching when he felt the strangely warm metal of _his_ pak. The once-human quickly wrapped his fingers around the edge of table and stared at the floor for a minute as he struggled not to panic.

"Are you in pain?" asked Gritt once again, his eyes traveling over his patient in curiosity. "I can give you a mild Irken sedative and gather some more readouts?"

Pushing away whatever nightmares were daring to plague him, Dib slowly looked sideways until his gaze capture another pair of eyes. He stared for a moment, wondering why it wasn't Zim looking over him like a clucking mother hen but instead this Voritan. He knew he should hate Zim, but he was slightly afraid that his enemy wasn't here.

… Zim was all he had left of Earth.

"Are you feeling an ached in the back of your mind or is the pain physical? Do you even remember anything?" asked the Voritan once again, his curiosity reaching its peak. He wanted to know desperately if this experiment had been a success.

Dib pressed all pains of Earth to the back of his mind and decided to look at the being before him, ignoring a buzzing feeling now coming from his back.

"Yah, I remember the pak's _introduction_," stated Dib in the calmness sense he could without growling. "I'm also not in pain right now. My back actually feels really numb. Why do you ask?"

The scientist pulled back for a moment and then said softly, "Are you sure? You were … leaking fluids from your eyes. I believe that is a human show of stress. It is a wonder as to why those haven't been rejected by your body as well. Perhaps early Irkens have the ability once; it would explain why the tears have changed slightly so you are no longer burned. Any other Irken would probably be in agony right now though."

A surprised expression covered the Halfling's face and he looked at the other as if trying to recall such a happening. His eyes suddenly fell downward as he recalled exactly what he had been dreaming about. In fact, there didn't seem a time since this whole escapade that he didn't dream. He had dreamed a lot of things. Of old hopes and fears but mostly things of earth and of where he was going. He had dreamed of his family it seemed. He had dreamed of his father and sisters, and for the briefest of moments he recalled his mother.

The human's eyes dragged away from that ever dripping gaze of the scientist as he spoke, "I was dreaming of my family, my heart perhaps is in pain but not my body."

The Voritan's curiosity quickly fell into nothing and his gloved hand pulled itself into a shivering fist at his side. He had to look away from the other being before he saw the other as something more than a glorified tool. It was a feeling Gritt knew the feeling all too well. That feeling was so simply called sorrow. It was sadly a feeling that only the Irken's victims could know. Irken's were created in tubes. What would they know of family? What could they know of the love and joy a child or a lover could bring? What could an Irken know of sorrow? Personally, that was why Gritt was sure the Irken's were so successful in there campaign. Every Irken only looked out for themselves and their leader(s); they did not know of love.

"I understand," said the scientist softly. "I have lost many as well. So, how do you feel? Any ache or pains? Most importantly, does your head hurt?"

Dib looked at the short being in suspicion for a moment, his eyes narrowing before his spoke, "Why is that important? You've already asked twice."

"Well," said Gritt as he crawled up onto the berth, his hands traveling over to the pak as he struggled to drown his own memories, barely even noting that Dib tried not to twitch as he heard his pak spring open. "Generally, paks observe an Irken's every thought and action as well as his physical body. They are like a second mind which helps makes rational choices to assist a host in his or her survival. In fact, it is said that sometimes that metallic assistant knows what an Irken is going to think before even he or she does; there is even a rumor that some paks start forming a 'ghost' of their owner's mind. Those Irkens are destroyed almost immediately; so if your pak forms one I recommend not telling anyone … except me. I'm more than a little interested in the phenomenon."

Dib's eyes got wide as he thought of the porn magazines under his bed and nearly slapped himself for thinking it because it was now part of his pak.

"So, let me get this right," said Dib as he tried not to think of the first time he got to second base. "It knows everything I know?"

"Yes?" said the Voritan as he smiled, watching the electrical grid jump to life inside the pak. "And whatever you seem to be thinking right now has your pak real interested, it's recording your every thought when generally it just observes. I'm sure it's going to like you a lot more than its old owner with the way it's acting."

The Halfling buried his head in his hands as embarrassment overcame him. Great, not only was he an Irken now, but apparently he had a pervert on his back. Life couldn't get much worse … could it?

"The feeling isn't mutual," said Dib dryly as he pulled his hands away, staring at his clawed hands. "Where's the moron anyway?"

The Voritan was silent for a minute, before he broke into laughter.

"What do you mean, moron? I thought he was the brains of this whole operation," said the alien as he went to hook up some assistant tubes to the pak. The pak seemed healthy enough and 'happy' with an intelligent host if the electric grid was any indication, but it was easy to say that the engine was struggling. Dib's body was just too large for the machine. Its engine was struggling, but it was trying and it wouldn't give up without a fight.

Gritt couldn't help but grin at the realization. It seemed everyone learned to like this Halfling, Dib … even his new pak. Better give a little help for the moment. And with that thought, the scientist plugged Dib's pak.

Dib nearly squawked when energy seemed to flow into his body from his spine. The teenager couldn't help but close his eyes as his whole body seemed to shiver in some type of ecstasy. It was really nice, as if a second life was pumping itself into him. Now it was of little wonder as to where Zim got all his pep and energy, as well as sleeplessness. How could any being even dream of wanting to sleep when they had so much life pressing itself into the back of their brain? Slowly, the Halfling dragged his head down to his hands trying to strive off some of the rapture so he wouldn't be overcome.

Gritt was worried for a moment, placing a hand on the taller being's shoulder now that he was leaning forward.

"Is something the matter?" asked the scientist simply as he popped open the shivering specimen's pak. He observed the inner workings for a brief minute. Nothing seemed out of order so why was Dib acting like he was about to fall off the table?

With a quivering sigh, Dib lifted his face upward as if the dull lamp above them was the sun kissing his face with its warmth. He missed the sun but this fluttering energy climbing through almost every cell in his being almost, almost, made up for its loss.

"It feels really, really, nice," said Dib as his eyes drew open saddened that he was greeted by an electrical lamp and not the endless blue sky with its occasional white intruders. "Like the sun has drifted into my body. I was really tired until you … plugged me in."

Those eyes hidden behind goggles drew away from a worried expression and he returned to the pak's current readouts. He wasn't sure what a 'sun' was but he could tell that Dib was in anything but pain. Bliss was perhaps a better word.

"I can only presume that it has something to do with your weakened pak," said Gritt not even noticing the worried expression that quickly covered his subject's facial features.

Dib sat there, his eyes never wavering from the creature over his shoulder. With a dry tongue, he couldn't help but inquire as to what the 'good' doctor meant by that. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that this pak is not sufficient for your needs and its engine will burn out if something is not done

There was a cold chill suddenly in the air, and Dib's antenna rose as a realization hit him. So that was Zim's plan. He was still planning on getting rid of him … just in a slow fashion. Dib would help him destroy the Tallest and Zim would take their place. Tuh. Figures. Dib might just die content with that knowledge if it wasn't for the fact that Zim had gained some much needed intelligence on Earth. After all, that moron would destroy the empire faster than any war could ever hope to ensue in his younger, dumber days. B-but that wasn't the situation. Dib's time was slowly falling like droplets of rain into a puddle. Soon the rain would stop falling and the earth would taste the sweet moisture until nothing was left but dry earth.

He hadn't been spared. He had been given a slow death. Bastard.

"I'm going to kill that bastard," came a growl from the Halfling as he rose to his feet, his fingers reaching and ready to pluck the plug from his pak when a small hand reached out and stopped him.

"What are you doing!" said the good doctor. "There is a reason I plugged you in. I want to survive otherwise all my work will be for nothing."

The human slapped the hand away, unplugging himself and trying not to shiver as his body was suddenly overcome with weakness. He then threw a glare at his torturer, "That bastard not only stole my humanity, he also stole my life, apparently. Yet he expects me to save his aft at the cost of my life. That jerk was just pulling me along like a dog on a leash. Well, he's got another thing coming."

The scientist was silent, uncertain of what to say. His mind didn't kick into high gear until his specimen was halfway across the room, taking unsteady steps, his body being slowly overcome with weakness. The Voritan pulled his hand into a fist and jumped down to the floor, footsteps echoing over the lab as he quickly caught up to Dib despite the Halfling's longer legs.

"Wait, wait. I think you are confused. Get back on the table. You misinterpreted my words. What I meant was –"

"Don't cover up for him. I'll make you a deal; after I kill that lying monster, you can have my dead body, deal?" hissed Dib, his finger slamming on the button that would open the door, yet his angry was quickly changed to wonder when a pair of cold red eyes glared at Dib. For a moment they just stared at each other, until the hatred resurfaced on Dib's feature, his teeth bared at the slightly shorter but certainly wider being.

"Get out of my way," came almost a howl from the newly turned Irken, his eyes becoming slits.

The large being's eyes became slits as well. _Well_, _fury filled was this one at least, but it didn't look like he had the bite to support that bark. He looked pale and even his eyes seemed misty_. His words were simple after that, "Get back on the berth."

A growl escaped the enraged humanoid as he pulled his fingers into a fist. He didn't have time for this moron, whoever he was. He had better things to do … like kill Zim. If he wasn't going to move Dib would just have to make him. Before the Irken could even open his mouth, to make his demand again, Dib drew a hand back and slammed a fist into the other's mouth. A dry grunt filled the dully lighted hall and the bulky Irken crashed against the wall, his eyes full of surprise.

Dib didn't even smirk at his work as he made his way pass the hefty being, his destination unknown. All he needed to know was what he was going to do to Zim. He was going to rip off the traitor's antennae and then …

"Umph!"

Dib laid there on his back for a second, his thoughts being replaced by a winded feeling as he stared at someone's ankles. He just stared trying to collect himself and figure out what had just happened. Well, he had been moving forward, death in mind, and then the next thing he knew he was on his back on the floor. Did he slip? A pair of red eyes glared down at him. Nope, he was tripped. He was loose on his new legs but he wasn't that much of a klutz.

"Get back into the lab," said the bulky Irken as he stared down at Dib's still form, his scarred eye seeming to scowl more menacingly than the other.

The humanoid sighed and slowly pulled himself upward onto his elbows, his back sending quick pains up his spine. He glared at his attacker and then with a quickly tongue stated bitterly, "Make me."

A squeak was all that was allowed of the stunned Halfling as he was dragged to his feet and slung over the shoulder of the slightly shorter Irken. He just stared at the closing door to the hall, surprise still encasing his cranium. Who the hell was this? Why did he care if Dib was going to die a little sooner or later? It wasn't any of his business. Deciding he didn't care who his current kidnapper was, Dib brought one of his elbows into the back of his capture's neck, making him yelp and allowing the hybrid to make an escape to the floor below. Dib didn't even take the time to rub his ass as he rose to his feet, dashing towards the exit once more. Only this time a pak leg lashed out and tripped him once again. Yet, this time he didn't find himself on his back and staring at the dust bunnies on the floor, but still standing somehow. The once-human looked to either side of him. He was hanging, more than standing, from four pak legs.

Well, that was a rather interesting sensation. He could feel those metallic legs holding him up, yet he knew they weren't his legs. Dib hung there, the back of his mind fuzzy as he tried to figure out what had happened. Not that he really got a chance to figure out how he activated those extra limbs when the lumbering figure made a grab for him. A yelp escaped the confused and weakening hybrid as struggled to get away. Luckily, his pak legs knew that he wanted to go backwards and stumbled away from the stranger. Yet, they seemed week, almost unable to keep him upright. Not that he really got to dwell on his equilibrium as the larger Irken made another grapple at him, using his own pak legs to shepherd Dib backwards and into a wall like a rat.

A growl escaped the Halfling which surprisingly made his attacker look frightened for a moment. Then, dwelling on the days when Zim would use his pak legs to run about the ceiling, did the same thing, using his new limbs clumsily to clamber over the top of his opponent. He didn't get far when his new legs suddenly gave out as if exhausted, making Dib fall to the floor with a yelp. The humanoid groaned as pain shivered up his form. That was no short fall. He quickly glared at his struggling legs at his side. The spindling limbs were certainly trying to pull him back up but they seemed to keep slipping as if on ice.

"That's enough out of you smeetling," grumbled the bulky being as he grabbed those legs at the base of the pak as if pulling weeds. He then pulled the aching Dib to his feet and slammed him face first against a wall. Dib didn't struggle at first, his head starting to feel light, but he almost balked when he felt the stranger's hand touch his pak. "Quit moving."

"Don't touch me. Don't you dare!" yelled Dib as his struggling returned with a vengeance.

Not that the stranger dragged his threat to heart as Dib's pak slid open, his legs retreating back into his Pak. There was a moment of silence and then Dib squawked as he felt a hand reached into his machine. Not that he could really protest, his exhaustion was now making him physically weak. He couldn't even complain as he listened to something click, like a switch, in his pak. Sleep came quickly and without complaint.

"Your Zim's helper I take it," said Gritt as he walked over the taller being, watching curiosity as the bulky Irken almost carefully pulled the now off-line being into his arms as if he were a child. Well, considering the specimen's age, Dib would be a child to most Irkens, wouldn't he?

"Yes, I am. He's lucky I even agreed otherwise our trump card would be dead," grumbled the stranger as he looked around his working conditions. He then headed over to the berth that Halfling had been on, laying Dib on his stomach as he grabbed the cord hanging from the ceiling. A soft click filled the room and a sigh escape the now slumbering patient. "This pak is too weak for someone of his size. Irk he's tall. Zim's plan doesn't seem as crazy now."

The Voritan merely laughed at the statement, getting on top of the table to check out the pak's recharge. "Yes, Zim is crazy, a crazy genius … So, tell me, what he is offering you if we succeed?"

Sizz-Lorr pulled out a metallic part from a pocket and handed it to the scientist, grumbling the name of the part before simply stating, "He said I could be a general. Tuh, usually I'd rather ignore Zim, but I'm willing to have a change of heart for a position like that."

XXX

Paw07: Ah … now we see how our dear Sizz-Lorr became involved in this masquerade.


	7. Rats in the Attic

Chapter 7: Rats in the Attic

Dib groaned and slowly sat up, his hand automatically reaching for his head. For a moment everything was blurry … except for two dewy eyes. Dib squinted one of his eyes and softly grumbled, "Zeem … eh thah yooooh?"

"Zim says you put it in wrong!" came a voice, the blurry eyes pushed out of the way and replaced by another pair of eyes. The new voice waved a green blur in front of Dib's face, but he couldn't quite discern what it was.

"I did not. You may not believe me, but I was once an Invader, Zim. I know how paks works!" came another deeper, angrier, voice.

"Do you have the brain worms! Even I can tell that you two did something wrong to him. He can't even communicate!" yelled the other voice again.

"Don't get on my nerves, banished smeetling! I was fixing paks before you were created! He's fine!" said the older voice.

"Lies! You lie to ZIM! You just want to destroy my plan and take me back to Foodcourtia! Never!"

Dib merely blinked in confusion as the two blurry figures suddenly merged into one, the sound of yelling and thrashing filling the area. Yet, just as Dib's vision started to come back into focus, another pair of eyes, hidden behind goggles, came into his field of vision. Dib blinked, his mind's fuzziness starting to come to an end.

"Just ignore them," said the new voice, no … it was familiar. He knew that voice. It was associated with pain for some reason. What kind of pain? His mind was still all fuzzy like his memories had been gobbled up by some beast that had been in his dreams.

"Now," said the voice again. "Just hold still while I examine you. You see this light."

There was suddenly a flash of light in both his eyes, making him draw back slightly with a hissed.

"I take it that you can see that. Now, do you feel light headed? Is it hard to respirate? Any pains at all?" said the examiner.

Dib blinked back his confusion, wiggling his fingers and toes. He was immediately freaked out, starting, when he noticed he was missing half of his digits and toes. Yet, before he could properly panic, memories slammed themselves in the back of his mind. No, no, his limbs were supposed to be that way. After all, Zim had turned him into an Irken; an Irken that needed a pak to survive.

A light groan escaped the half-ling as he recalled the painful surgery, and the invasive little tentacles that crawled into his flesh, making him cry out for escape. Then he was beat into the ground a while later by some freak that wouldn't let him leave. Irk, no wonder he was in pain. Groaning again, Dib slowly reclined down onto the berth, covering his eyes with his wrist.

"I hurt all over. I-I think I'm going to take a nap. Tell me when Zim shows up … so I can beat the crap out of him," murmured Dib as he closed his eyes, his mind less foggy now, but still exhausted. He knew Zim told him Invader's didn't need to sleep; the word being _need_. No one said he couldn't. He was going to sleep even if it took him a half an hour to figure out how to initiate sleep mode. He needed to dream away this hell he was in; even if it was just for a couple of hours. Happiness was happiness, even if one could only have it in their head.

"There will be no sleeping, Dib!" came a growl, the being standing before him roughly pushed away. Next thing the Halfling knew, he was forced into a sitting position, warm red eyes glaring at him. Still slightly disorganized, Dib blinked … before he growled like a kicked dog and punched Zim in the face. Sizz-Lorr and Gritt both cringed backwards as they watched Zim fall to the floor, gripping his mouth.

Zim sat there on the floor for a moment, in shock. He quickly wiped his lips, looking at the green blood now on his sleeve before he yelled, "What the Irk was that for, flesh-beast!"

Dib sat there on the berth, feet still hanging over the edge of the table before he was able enough to collect himself and glared down at his forced companion, "For not telling me just how damn painful insertion of a pak was, and for hiring some local goon to beat the crap out of me if I tried to leave!"

"I was practically born with my pak on so how would I know how bad it would be! And what goo! Zim hired no slimy goo to watch you!" shouted the other as he rose to his feet, teeth bared and fists ready.

Dib shook his head, still a little fuzzy, but at least there wasn't that exhausted in his body. He felt … strong, if not a little numb. His pak was making him stronger, yet sleepy because it was removing any unwanted traces of his past life … it was removing what was left of his humanity. Sighing, Dib pushed backed all the feelings of discomfort, numbness, hate, rage, and focused on the one thing he truly wanted: revenge.

"I said _goon_ you nimrod, and you deserved that punch to the face!" snapped Dib, more harshly then he meant to, making Zim stare at him in surprise. Sighing, Dib strangely found himself regretting his sour tone … it was unwise to push away ones allies. Growling in his throat, Dib rubbed his eyes trying to regain his sight. He really wanted that nap, but he had better things to do. Pinching the place where his nose use to be, Dib pretended he hadn't just acted like a femme having PMS.

"Where were you anyway, Zim? I thought we are on a schedule? I don't plan on … remaining … this way, and the sooner I gut the Tallest – their blood beneath my fingers – the sooner I can fade into the darkness happy."

Zim's antennae rose. D-did Dib just insinuate what he thought he did? Yes, it was an honorable thing for a soldier to commit suicide or banish themselves, but not Dib. Dib was far too noble of a warrior to end it in such a way. H-he wouldn't allow it! True, he hadn't thought much of what was going to happen to Dib after they overthrew the Tallest, but he just presumed that Dib would remain in his service. What else was he going to do? Well, it seemed that he had underestimated the Halfling once more … Dib always had a way of surprising him. Straightening, he bit his tongue to keep his inner thoughts just that. He didn't need Sizz-Lorr seeing his weakness, his admiration for such an opponent. Well, he'd just change Dib's mind … one way or the other.

"We'll see about that Dib-worm, but right now let's move on from your melodrama because we need go over the plan that could only come from Zim's greatness!" said Zim, a grin rising on his face as he tried to regain his status of leader in this small band of misfits.

Everyone groaned in the room, knowing that this was going to be a long day of stupidity, but Zim surprised them all by … pulling out a small purple orb.

"And this is the key to Zim's success," said the Irken as he showed off the thing as if it were a treasure. Gritt seemed confused, Dib slapped a hand over his mouth as if trying to protect his mouth from something, and Sizz-Lorr's jaw dropped in surprise.

"H-how did you get a hold of that? Only the Control Brains … there's no way," said the fry cook in disbelief.

Zim's grin grew, "Zim has his connections. Plus, I've been audience to the Control Brains more often then you, fry cook! They not even notice Zim brilliance … of course, Zim always thought he'd get Taller on his own … not because of Dib's human food filth!" said Zim, his glare very obvious. "No matter now. Dib-stink, come here. This is for you."

Dib shook his head, his legs shakily hitting the floor as he dropped from the examination table. Those things were disgusting; he would not allow another one in his mouth. "No. I'm not putting anything in my mouth."

For some reason, both Zim and Sizz-Lorr started to laugh. Dib put on a confused, slightly frightening expression. He didn't like where this was going. Standing up straight, Dib growled, "What's so funny! What is that thing?"

Sizz-Lorr was now laughing so hard he was leaning against one of the walls. Zim had stopped laughing though, a grin now on his face, "So scared of such a good thing, Dib. This is a core-height-circuit. It is the necessary upgrade that only certain tall Irkens get. It is the upgrade needed to for all Advisors … so that they are eligible to become a temporary Tallest themselves if the Tallest suddenly die. The Advisors also collect and recommend names of eligible tall Irkens that can qualify to be Tallest. You, Dib, once the Tallest are gone will convince the other Advisors into nominating none other than me as the next Tallest."

Sizz-Lorr stopped laughing, his eyes almost going as wide as Dibs, "What! You never said any of this to me, just revenge! You're a food service drone! You don't qualify!"

Dib also cried out at the same time, "You never said anything about becoming the next Tallest! I thought this was just revenge … you never said anything about …"

"Silence," Zim yelled as he shifted his eyes into a low gaze, looking down at the slightly shorter fry-cook and ignoring Dib completely, "Yes I do qualify, fry cook. The Control Brains look at service records, not reputations. Besides, I filled all the obligations: science, real field battle, exploration, public services, and finally I know I'm well over the height of any of the current Advisors. I will be the next Tallest."

He then turned a cold gaze to Dib, the human slightly frightened by the determination in them, "And you really have not room to complain, fleshling. I'm giving you your revenge, but the only way I can save the rest of humanity is if I am the one giving the commands. Now, be a nice little Halfling and come … here."

Here …

Here …

"He-here, give me this wire. No, yes, that one. Move. I know what I'm doing. The Tallest is stable," said a voice. Blue wanted to shy away from it; to scream at it to be silent, but all he could do was feel the darkness with a warmth crawling up his back. He'd just be still for now. Everything hurt. He just needed to rest.

"Are you sure he's alright?" asked Nave as he resisted the urge to shift. The Tallest's weight was finally starting to settle on him with his lord's head on his shoulder while the medic continued to work with Blue's pak. Nave wouldn't complain though. The medical drone, Lepo, was in a really foul mood. It wasn't often that a Tallest was in need of his services, but when one just collapsed he was to be called immediately. No one else was supposed to be snooping around in the Tallest's pak or anything of that nature unless he was dying. Not even this Sizz-Lorr character who had thought that Blue was merely having a case of organ exhaustion, and tried to turn it back on before the wait time was over.

Lepo grumbled and glared at the General who now was sporting a shiner: from the medic personally when he had tried to check his Tallest's pak mere moment ago. The General, in fact, kept looking back at Blue nervously as he continued his onslaught on the Ark, trying to keep the Armada in one piece. The medic would acknowledge that Sizz-Lorr was a good General, but not a good a medic. The idiot had almost turned back on Tallest Blue's pak! The mountain must have turned off his pak enough times fighting the Ark to know what organ exhaustion looked like and the symptoms didn't include screaming at the top of one's lungs in agonizing pain and collapsing. At least that's what the Advisor and the Interrogator had told him. In fact, from the claw marks on Blue's head, it looked like he was in mental agony: something that happened from time to time if the memory core of the pak was affected.

"You two!" cried the medic as he slammed the Tallest's pak shut, glaring at two of the Tallests' large personal guards. "Hurry and take his Tallest to his quarters and plug him in to his bed's life support. I think his pak has been damaged by the magnetic attack."

All the Advisors gasped as well as half the room … the ones that could spare the breath that is, being that the wait time was still in effect. But none were quit as surprised as Sizz-Lorr, the large mountain nearly tumbling over to the medic.

"I-I turned off his pak! I know I did!" he said in near hysteria.

Lepo glared at the shaken mountain and simply said, "No one said you didn't. You did the proper procedure to turn off a pak from what I can tell … but it seems that Tallest Blue had special upgrades. There were a few components that were programmed not to turn off."

The Advisors all threw around worried looks, their sights all landing back on the medic, wanting more of an answer. Finally, Pixen spoke, voicing everyone's concern, "W-we don't have any spare paks for an Irken the size of the Tallest, and we can't get to planet Irk in time to get a new one… are you telling me he is going to die?"

The medical drone sighed, shaking his head, "I-I don't know. I need to look over the pak a little more. Maybe it isn't as damaged as I think it is. Either way, I won't know until I get him back to his room for a proper examination … which won't happen if you two keep standing around like idiots! Get over here!"

Sizz-Lorr could only stand there in horror as the two body guards slowly slung there lord and master over their shoulders. He could only shudder as a realization started to grow in his chest. The pak hadn't turned itself off completely … because that was the only way to keep Dib at bay. It would make sense. The part never turned off or took a rest; the closest thing it probably got to turning off was probably when Blue went in sleep mode … which explained the dreams. It also explained why Dib woke so often … even paks would wear out or overheat if it never got a rest. That's why beds were equipped with added life support, to give paks a partial rest.

The ex-fry cook didn't know if that realization was a good or bad thing. Perhaps it meant that only the inhibitor that kept Dib at bay was destroyed and that Blue would be fine physically. But that left another problem … would the medic notice what the part was? Ugh, if the Control Brains found out about it there might be an inquiry on Tallest Zim, asking him if he was trying to influence his co-leader. That's why there were usually two of Tallest, after all. They were supposed to keep each other in check.

Or … worse: Blue could be discovered and his origins. Tightening, the General took a step forward, ready to think up a reason for why he had to come along when one of the Advisors suddenly stepped in his way, his nearly black eyes becoming sharp slits.

"I believe the Tallest's last command is still in effect, Sizz-Lorr," said Dimm, the eldest Advisor, as he rose to his feet and took a stance in front of the moving mountain. There wasn't something right here. True, he had been thinking that since the two current Tallest had taken rule. Well, not both of the Tallest. True, there was certainly something wrong with Tallest Blue. He couldn't put a claw on it though. It was not uncommon for more intelligent Irkens to have unruly minds even during sleep-mode and his strange … characteristics … were probably due to prolong exposure to an alien species he was observing or conquering. Not that those characteristics really bothered Dimm. After all, just minutes ago, Tallest Blue had just sacrificed over his own command to the ship knowing what was best for the Armada.

Zim would have been an idiot about the situation and tried to fend off Membrane by himself. But knowing Zim … he probably knew some secret weakness about the humans. It had been his planet that the resistance had come from, after all. Yah, Dimm still remembered that. He was the oldest Advisor here and one with a photographic mind. He remembered Earth and sometimes he couldn't help but wonder if all Zim's secrets led back to the planet. In spite of everything, its existence was almost completely removed from the universe except a few lingering souls like Membrane and an old advisor's memory. A memory that needed to be satisfied. Perhaps Membrane was so persistent in his vow to destroy the Tallest not just because of the loss of their home world but because of something personal, something that the slimy monkey would spill with a little torture. His Tallest had asked for the specimen to be alive, after all.

"Did you not hear me?" said Dimm as he took a step forward, his robes shifting as he drew in closer to the moving mountain. He stood there a minute, looking down. He barely towered over Sizz-Lorr but he knew his cold eyes would get the job done anyway.

"Yes, I did," said Sizz-Lorr, his shock being replaced by irritation. "But I need to make sure his Tallest is …"

"You don't need to do …."

"INCOMING!" came a cry from the pilots den, one of the small Irkens turning around and looking at Sizz-Lorr with wide eyes. "The Ark just sent a small ship to ram …"

The ship lurched, beeping exploding from the pilots' dens. Soon, one of them was crying out which sectors had been breached and that they were trying to get those areas cut off. The Advisors that had rushed over to their Tallest reluctantly departed back to the stations they abandoned. Dimm glaring at Sizz-Lorr, but before he could even demand anything of the larger Irken, he was back at the reins, his voice echoing over the walls. The dark-eyed Advisor glared for a moment, before he rallied the large guards to take their Tallest away. He was going with the medic because he knew that Blue's pak was going to reveal some hidden truth, and he was going to be there to witness it.

He only hoped that he got all the information he needed before Tallest Zim returned. Knowing him, Zim already knew about the attack on the Massive and was burning out an engine in a rush to get here and hide whatever it was that he did to Blue. Yes, he knew Zim was doing something to Blue's pak, and if Zim was the cause of this present catastrophe, there'd be hell to pay. It was practically treason to admit that an Irken liked one Tallest over the other so Dimm never said anything … but Tallest Zim could easily be replaced. In fact, he was the Tallest Advisor there; he could always take Zim's place if he wanted too.

…

There was absolute chaos raging through the Massive being that the ship itself was under attack and that the ship had been physically rammed. So it would be understandable that no one would notice the clang from overhead or notice that the kamikaze pilot was no longer in the small ship that had rammed into the Massive. No, the pilot was one of the Resistance's best. She was quick in her actions, seeming to come and go with the very shadows. She was also cold hearted, lacking any emotions except that glint of hate in her eyes. Some said she was a demon, others that she was a spirit of a human which was wandering the universe for revenge. She was darkness. She was fear. She was going to be the end of Tallest Blue.

Kicking out one of the air vents, she fell to the floor soundless. Slowly, she rose to her near full height, her purple hair glinting in the artificial lights from above. Gaz pulled her hands into fists, her eyes narrowing as she looked down the hall. Dad had wanted to send another, but she had told him … _I want them to suffer the way I did_. Dad did not stop her, because he knew she was the best. She was the Resistance's best assassin, and she was going to get retribution for her brother.

"I'm going to make you pay," she whispered as she took a step forward, her shoes barely making a sound as all the lights seemed to dim due to her very presence.

XXX

Paw07: Yep, I take forever, I know, but at least you Gaz fans get to see how she will get to play in this. Also, because lord knows I forget my own OC's from time to time I decided to put up a list for you and me. XD

OC Reminders:

Borit: an Irken with pink eyes and is the Chief Researcher who showed up in chapter four assisting Blue with a dissection

Dimm: a rather tall and older Advisor with nearly red-black eyes, shows up in chapter six

Gritt: voritan scientist on planet Dirt which inserted Dib's pak, shows up in chapter four

Lepo: the Tallests' personal physician and the Armada's CMO, shows up in chapter seven and notices something's wrong with Blue's pak

Nave: a tall Irken Interrogations Officer who showed up in chapter two, stopping Blue from hiding in the servants' quarters

Pixen: one of Blue's Advisors who showed up in chapter three, nursed Blue back to health after Zim finished fishing in Blue's pak

Ta-Boo: one of Blue's Advisors which is the newest and shortest of the advisors, showed up in chapter five and told Blue of the Ark


	8. Little Sister

Chapter 8: Little Sister

Sizz-Lorr sat over his plans, drawing diagrams so that he could create a proper map for Dib. He had been on the Massive a few times, even served on it before _the incident_. After all, he had been an Invader and a damn good one at that. He deserve something more then what he had; he deserved a little respect!

Anger rising, the next thing the large Irken knew he had crushed the digi-pad he had been drawing and writing notes in. He sighed, putting down the cracked tool, his gaze falling over the room. Zim was gone. He didn't exactly know where the other had gone, but he said that they need an escape route which the crazy ex-Invader was correct about. Even if that were so, shouldn't the defect be in here helping him with the diagrams and not out gallivanting?

No, it wasn't wise to try and put logic to Zim's thought patterns. Picking up a new digi-pad, the fry cook couldn't help but notice Dib sitting in a corner, working on his Advisor's inform. Sizz-Lorr had wondered how he was going to pull that off, being that all Advisors had their robes personally made for them due to their high standings and height, but it seemed that Dib knew the art of a slave … sewing. Interesting to say the least and revealing. He didn't know much about this Dib character except that he wasn't, in fact, born Irken. That had disgusted him at first, but after their small exhausted battle, he respected the other.

Now, he respected Dib even more because he was resourceful being which was smart enough to contain an odd collection of skills. The problem was … Dib was young. He was a smeetling in Irken years, not even ready for the battlefield, still in the nurseries. He was young to battle. Yes, he was a decent fighter, but nowhere near skilled enough to take on the Tallest nor any elite guards they may have. Sizz Lorr had been silently wondering if, in fact, Dib wasn't meant to survive this. He was just learning of his body, Zim didn't really expect him to take out the Tallest by himself without dying, did he?

It had been a strange plan, crazy even, that the taller Irken had told them. Dib would do the killing of the two Tallest and even though the fry cook could see the Halfling's soft, emotional features, Dib had accepted that part of the mission with a simple nod. The problem was making sure nobody caught him red handed. Dib would only get one chance to do this so they had to make sure no one interrupted… Which was where Sizz-Lorr and Zim came in. They were going to, ironically, play their part. They were going to be a Resistance. A masked one. mind you, in a non-Irken ship, but they would attack with the same vigor an angry, enslaved people would. They had the advantage though, and they knew it. After all, they were Irkens so they would know their peoples' faults.

Irritated with his work, Sizz-Lorr placed his pad down and looked over at the youth, stating, "Why do you know a slaves' art?"

Dib stopped for a moment, his antennae falling flat against his head, his mind confused, "What?"

"Sewing, by hand no less, is a slave art. Why do you know it? From what I understood, your spawning male-caretaker was a rich scientist. Why would you have to know something lowly like sewing?" replied the cook, simply curious. He was placing his future in this smeetling and he knew nothing about the Dib. He had a feeling that he wouldn't be terribly disappointed though.

The Halfling offered a sad half-smile, not looking up; he didn't need the Irken seeing the hurt in his eyes.

"My mother died when I was young and, yes, my father was a scientist… who was never home. He made sure there was food in the fridge, most of the time, but otherwise he was never there. I saw him probably twenty times a year and only once or twice a year did he spend more than a few minutes in our presence. He was little more than a ghost."

Sizz-Lorr raised a brow at the paranormal description but there was no excitement in the other Irken's voice. Apparently, from Zim's ramblings, Dib believed in the paranormal and cultural superstitions of his planet. They were ridiculous for the most part, apparently, but Dib acted very much like a scientist, investigating each issue with hearty jubilation. Zim admired that mad-scientist air around his past enemy. So… why wasn't Dib happy?

Dib sucked on his tongue a second before running it over his teeth, tasting the metal braces, before he continued in a soft, somber tone, "I was the oldest. I took care of my sister most of the time. My mind wandered a lot and I would run off in mad bouts, but even when I came home covered in bruises I'd make sure the door was locked, the dishes were in the dishwasher, and when my sister ripped off the head to her favorite stuffed toy, I sewed it back on. I made sure that she thought dad loved her. Dad hated Christmas and always forgot our birthdays. I bought her presents and I did whatever I recalled my mom doing before she…"

The human went silent, his lips dragging into such a sad expression that the fry-cook wondered if he would be witness to these "tears" Zim had mention earlier.

With a sniff, Dib laid down his work and met the wider alien's gaze, whispering, "It was never enough though. I tried to be nice, tried to take care of her, but she was so cold, so cruel to me at times. It was as if she didn't even care I was there… I gave up after a while. I just made sure we had Christmas and that I let her play her games… I know she didn't care for me, but I miss her."

The human went silent after that, wiping his eyes after a hiss escaped him. Then, placing on a smile with quick falseness, the Halfling snickered, "I don't know why I miss Gaz. She was the most frightening person I knew; always scared me even after I started towering over her."

Sizz-Lorr was slightly confused, never having had such tight, emotional ties. He was confused by it, slightly, and why the human even bothered with the emotional connections, but someone interrupted his thoughts when they voiced their own.

"Is that so?" came a voice from the far-off entrance, the door sliding open with an electric squeal.

The two occupants nearly jumped out of their skin, their heads snapping as they turned to look at the marauder that had decided to steal the sanctity of their conversation. The female Irken smile, Tak smiled, as she posed in the doorway, the light seeming to creep away. Then, in all predictability, her SIR ran across the room, and she just continued to smile, stating in a malicious tone, "I thought I was the most frightening person you have ever met, Dib."

"Dib…"

"Dib…"

"Dib, I will revenge you," came a whisper from a shadow clad figure as it continued on its crusade.

Her shoes clicked down the servant halls of the Massive. She made no moves to be stealthy, she didn't need too. She was a thing born of the shadows, a demon of sorts with the seeming powers of a demigod. She was a stirring shadow, a monster of the night, and she would have her blood like some kind of slippery serpent in a graveyard.

Tonight she would add some new blood and guts to her graveyard collection… Tallest Blue.

Heavy shoes coming to a halt, she stalled at the feeling. Her eyes became slits and she barely witnessed a shadow to her left moving like a ghost. It seemed to be a swirling mass, personified, before it was sucked into a nearby vent. Yes, Gaz indeed did seem to be a demigod at times, the shadows themselves offering her assistance. Nonetheless, she couldn't find it in herself to care about the shadows nor the frightening air that clung to her like a suffocating fog. There was only one thing that she had wanted help from, one thing that actually cared enough to help her in love more than fear or obligation.

… Dib.

She remembered Dib and the night he snuck into her room, placing her vampire-bear on her bed with a new, button eye. She had threatened him never to go into her room again after that… not because she wasn't glad. It was just that she didn't know how to _react_. What was she supposed to do afterwards? Dad patted her on the head from time to time and she'd get a feeling she couldn't explain, a warmth, and when Dib had did that for her she had gotten that same feeling, but warmer. She didn't like it and she struck out, doing all she could to push him away. And it worked for the most part except for every once in a while he would do something for her and never ask for anything in return.

With him now gone, she realized what she had lost. Zim would pay.

Meanwhile, far down the vent, pass the panicking snack cooks, the guards' quarters, and the nacho cheese vats, there was a rather large room containing diagrams of voot cruisers, pictures and stories of local legends, and a precariously set jar on a bed stand with a brown eye in it. The eye seemed to stare innocently up at its guests as they stumbled into the room, a blue clothed figure hanging between them like a limp mannequin.

"Stop stumbling about!" yelled a voice from behind the entering figures. "His Tallest is in a fragile state. Put him on his berth."

The two guards did as they were asked, one taking special care while placing his Tallest's head on a pillow, watchful of his antennae. It was widely known that touching his Tallest Blue was a rare occurrence, since that Tallest didn't even ask for his robes to be grasped and begged upon. The guard was sure that he'd never get to touch his Tallest again, especially if the ruler didn't survive.

"Move," stated Lepo, pretending not to notice that the guard had touched the Tallest without approval.

With quick hands and pak legs, the healer was up on the bed as he opened the pak. A light spilled over his face and his eyes narrowed… that didn't seem right. He couldn't help but grunt in worry as his small hands fell into the clockwork, fingers trying not to shake as he tried to find the problem. If he didn't fix this or see what was wrong… Tallest Blue may die, and though no sane Irken would ever admit it out loud, Lepo liked one Tallest more than the other. Tallest Zim could easily be replaced, after all, with any of the advisors on the ship, but not Tallest Blue. There was something special about him… some kind of warmth that no amount of snacks could ever offer.

"Is he alright?" asked a voice, suddenly intruding in the medic's work.

Speak of the devil, as Blue would say. Advisor Dimm stepped into the room, his form holding its pride though he was probably exhausted. The five minutes had lapsed and everyone had turned their paks back on… for now. Every single Irken on the ship undoubtedly had their antennae held high, waiting for the warning to turn off their paks. Lepo had heard whispers of the Ark from time to time and knew that most Irkens that didn't die from the first attack, died from continual pak exhaustion; repeatedly having to turn off their pak due to multiple attacks from the Ark's cannon and buildup of wastes that the pak couldn't clean up fast enough when it was turned back on.

"You should sit down if your exhausted, Dimm. If Tallest Blue doesn't survive… you are the tallest advisor on the ship," stated the medic as he gave the dark eyed Irken a look. Dimm merely twitched his lip, stating his unspoken opposition.

"I'd be dead with in the week. Zim would probably kill me by accident, or I'd have to self-destruct just because I couldn't put up with him," stated the advisor in a sour tone, caring little who heard. Most Irkens probably secretly agreed that Zim had a running track record for accidently offing Tallest. It was a wonder he hadn't done the same to Tallest Red and Purple…

The medic shook his head slightly so the other Irken could look inside the pak. Dimm frowned, not upset, but confused. The light from the pak, reflecting in his wet orbs, seemed too bright for a _dead_ pak.

"You still haven't answered my first question…"

"It's too soon to tell," stated the medic as he stood back and plugged the pak into the sleeping unit, turning to look at the dark-eyed Irken.

Dimm, caring little if he was getting into the medic's personal space, came around the other side of Blue's bed and peered into the pak again, his face seemingly haunting with the soft light blue light that met his skin. His eyes squinted as he got an accurate look.

"It still seems to be functioning, but something is most certainly fired in there. I can smell the burnt components," stated the advisor, wanting to reach in and rummage around himself though he knew better. Lepo would try and rip his hand off if he touched one of the medic's patients.

"I know. It… looks fine. I don't see one burnt out converter though I do smell something burnt. Sizz-Lorr does know his stuff."

"… So what was with the attack Blue had? His face will need extensive care so it doesn't scar… if he survives," asked the Advisor as he sat down on the bed, placing a hand on his Tallest's back, feeling the thick bone beneath the fabric. It had been something he had noticed one day and had always wanted to touch: Tallest Blue's spine. It seemed thick and flexible, unlike most Tallest's spines. It was an abnormality which probably explained why Tallest Blue had to have his hover belts modified early on, and why he didn't mind walking from time to time; his bone density was heavy. He had asked Lepo about it once, and the medic had perked his antennae up in confusion and then said … there was nothing to say. Sometimes Irkens, being fast evolvers, developed traits to help them survive. Heavy bone density was probably the after effect of living on a planet with abnormal gravity.

Which led to the question all Irkens wanted to ask: who exactly was Tallest Blue and where had he been to make him so different?

"I think it has to do with the memory core. He was clawing at his head… maybe this was an attack that was in a long time waiting and the turning off of his pak just allowed it to come full swing," stated the medic as he continued to rummage around like a consumer at a garage sale. "In fact, I'm almost positive about that… look how stressed some of the transistors and other systems are."

Dimm leaned in as Lepo fell back. The pak looked _worn_. Now that was strange. Zim always seemed to be in Blue's pak, tinkering with it. Even he would have noticed this wear and, though it was somewhat dangerous, would have went back to Irk and gotten his co-leader a new pak. Yet, he hadn't even requested replacement parts… it was obvious he wasn't trying to kill Tallest Blue, his fondness rather obvious, so then why was Blue's pak's bad state allowed to continue.

Unless Zim was hiding something.

Blue, never recalled his past battles or even dotted on the thought of reminiscing. It was like he couldn't. Many thought he just didn't care for his past and thought it best left unsaid, making Zim the only being that knew of Blue's origins… Maybe Zim was truthfully the only one who knew Blue's origins. Not even Blue knew.

A shiver ran down his antennae at the thought of such a horror being true. His repulsion was so obvious that Lepo even looked up from his work, "What's wrong? Do you feel faint?"

Dimm suddenly felt sick. Zim wouldn't do that to his own co-Tallest, would he? The two were meant to complete each other, not be controlled by one or the other. It offset the balance that the control brains worked so diligently to create after having to replace so many single Tallest.

"No, only a sickening thought. Check that memory converter connected to his brain… see if there has been any meddling," added the Advisor. He was usually a calm character and though he had no special attachment to Blue, he –himself- couldn't imagine living without all of his mind; just shadows here or there of a past. Explained why Tallest Blue recharged so much though… it was the only time the pak could rest some of its weary components.

Catching on immediately, Lepo's eye went wide and he shook his head, "N-no. You are not even thinking that. Even the control brains would be enraged by that and they have no emotions."

"I'm not saying anything… just check."

The medic looked a little nervous but reached down, pulling out a filter and placing it to the side for a moment, the way his antennae twitched told Dimm all he needed to know before the fried Blocker was even removed from the pak and shown in the light, confessing some unknown guilt.

Dimm didn't know if to be happy or upset. Tallest Zim would most defiantly get the blame for this though… so how much of Blue's character was a lie? Was his real self a monster and Zim did it to survive or was he weak and cowardly, unworthy to be a Tallest? Either way, he still needed to report this.

Standing up, besides the wobbling feeling in his feet, Dimm started for the door, Lepo calling out to him, "Where are you going?"

Dimm stalled in the doorway before stating, "To find a secure line to planet Irk. I need to talk to the control brains… stay with his Tallest or at least make another Advisor do it. That Blocker was large… there is no telling what Zim has been hiding and how well Tallest Blue is going to handle it."

…

Blue laid there, his whole form ached. He had been dreaming, hadn't he? No, remembering. Yes, that was it, but why wasn't the memory getting fuzzy and slowly disappearing? What was this blue planet… what was… what was going on? Ugh, he felt sick. Why? He better do a diagnostic to…

His pak wasn't on!

The Tallest sat up, mind no longer on the flashes his pak was absorbing from his subconscious and trying to categorize. His fingers were panicking as he tried to reach back and activate his pak though he knew that no Irken was able to turn off his own, a safely mechanism to stall Irkens from committing suicide unneededly. The self-destruction was an option only offered to Invaders.

"My Tallest!"

"What's wrong?"

Blue's eyes snapped to the left, and he immediately felt the need to defend himself as if his fellow Irken was somehow a threat. No, no, he knew these Irkens. It was Lepo and a few of his Advisors.

He tried to keep his voice professional, but it came out panicking, "M-my pak. It's off. Turn it on, _turn it on_!"

Though the three Advisors came to his bedside immediately, having been accumulated around Lepo, his medical Officer, not one moved towards his back to reactivate his pak. Pixen actually came over and sat on the bed with him while the other's gathered around, whispering questions of how he was feeling.

He hated it when they mother henned him on a normal day, but he was slowly dying and they were acting like nothing was wrong.

"My pak is off! Just don't sit there!"

The three Advisors drew back, not knowing what else to say to the enraged Tallest; they had never seen him angry. Never. Lepo had said that some damaged memories might have been recovered –which is why he freaked out- but he had never once seemed to have a violent intent. Always cool and collected like a scientist with observant eyes.

Lepo was quick to interject as he came into Blue's gaze, "Please do not stress yourself any farther… there was another electro-magnetic pulse from the Ark, and we had to turn off your pak so it wouldn't short out. Please, calm yourself, we can't have you stressing yourself out again."

Blue tried to calm his breathing and reached a hand up toward his skull only to try and ward off the pain inside his cranium. The tallest Advisor there, Rig, quickly grabbed his wrists, apologizing for touching him, as he placed the hands back into Blue's lap.

Blue frowned at the touch, Rigg was a closed off intellectual Advisor that was far too caught up in his own work to even consider talking to Blue unless addressed first. He continued to frown… something was wrong. He was distorted. He vaguely recalled the Ark hailing them but after that it was all a blur. Something had happened.

This time he was a little quicker with his hand before the tall Advisor could dare to touch him… there were bandages. Yes, now he remembered. He had been … talking with the Ark's captain; a featureless being with nothing but glinting goggles. He had sat down because he was having _flashes_. Flashes about… the Ark's captain and how he had known him. H-how had he known him? He didn't recall most of his past yet this man… had been important to him.

Why?

Pain slammed into his head and he found himself balling his head into his hands… though this time he made sure not to dig his nails in.

"Tallest Blue," cried Lepo as his fingers wrapped around Blue's thin wrists as if trying to stop him from digging into his own scalp again. Blue allowed the healer to drag his hands downward, his eyes filling with relief.

Blue pulled his hands away, hating how often he had been touched the past following hours. But he'd allow them to, especially the medic. He had collapsed after all.

Releasing a pent up breath shakily, he closed his eyes, bidding away another attack. He couldn't break down right now about a false memory, a waking dream. He needed to make sure his ship survived; that his people were able to –if not overcome- ward off this resistance.

"I'm fine," stated Blue as he made a move to stand. "I will not be clawing myself again. Now I need to get to the brig-eeh!"

The Tallest nearly screamed as he lost his balance while standing, the recharge bed the only thing saving him from going face first on the floor. It was Rigg that actually managed to coax him back into his berth though.

"Listen to the medic, my Tallest. We nearly lost you a few minutes ago, and Sizz Lorr is a capable captain or you wouldn't have given him command. Allow us to do our job and advise you, stay in the bed. Your pak may not have gone dead, but it certainly cannot take any added stress right now."

Despite his want to do something, having finally being in a real battle he could remember, Tallest Blue wanted to prove himself as a leader and in a way he had… he gave command to the most knowledgeable being on the ship: Sizz Lorr. Yet, in the back of his mind, not his pak, there was a stirring that was stating, '_No, you know more than anyone_,' but he had to press it back as his cranium was slammed with agony. He pushed away the thought and the need to grab his skull.

"Yes, Rigg, as usual your thoughts are always logical. I am in no form to be of any use. It is best if I try to remain calm and alive… the fry cook has always been resilient. A good soldier to have your back."

"I'm sure," added the tallest Advisor in the room, sharing confused looks with the other advisees as Tallest Blue slowly laid down on his berth, allowing the medic to come up to him and whisper medical advisements to him.

The three Advisors, in turn, stepped away, Pixen speaking in a worried tone, "I know Tallest Blue knew Sizz Lorr was a fry cook but the way he said it…"

"… Made it sound like he knew him even before that," stated the intelligent Advisor, still dwelling on Dimm's careful words about the fact that Blue would be remembering lost memories. Only defective paks had those kind of problems or ancient Irken. The only reason a healthy Irken would have that problem would be because … they had a Blocker installed. Yet, the control brains would have never allowed a dysfunctional Irken like that into such a powerful position. He didn't have all the pieces yet to make a scientific deduction but Rig would use one of Tallest Blue's own quotes for this whole situation: they just opened a can of worms.

"… But I don't recall any notations that those two having ever worked together. They barely seemed to know each other but the way he said it was … familiarity," added the newest member of the Advisors, Ta-Boo.

Pulling his thoughts together, Rigg added, "Yes… and I fear it won't be the last familiarity. It is best that we stay with him. I know the guards would usually be enough given their Elite standing, but … I am worried."

Those words not only made it to the intended party and through the air into the venting system, but into the inner ear of Gaz Membrane. The girl had to use all her god given control not to slam her fist down onto the metal and echo her whereabouts to every Irken on the ship. Instead she glowered at the three Advisors, who must have felt the deathly glare because they all shivered and made their way back over to the resting Tallest.

Great, just great. Gaz could have taken on Tallest Blue and the two elites with little resistance. The Tallest would be exhausted because of the constant pak shut downs and the elite's would be slow because they wouldn't be able to deal with both the exhaustion and abnormally heavy armor. But three advisors in the room as well? She had never fought an Advisor and though most were kept around for their intelligence and not necessarily their military wit, brute strength wasn't everything. If fighting the Irkens all these years had taught her anything: being tall wasn't everything, it was the mind that mattered.

Plus, medics were mean. She had nearly been dissected once by one of the little monsters.

Cursing her bad luck, the girl pulled a little more in the shadows and activated her communication device, she witnessed her father wince on the other side of the connection as the ship took a hit. His eyes then became hopeful and he whispered, "Is the deed done?"

Gaz's eyes glinted in her frustration. The man might never have apologized for his past misdeeds after the day she cried, but he had given her considerably more attention after: to become a soldier, but it was attention nonetheless and though she held a type of contempt for him, she always wanted to impress him. Grinding her teeth, she admitted, "No… too many guards. I have a good vantage point, but with you attacking right now no one's going to let up enough guard to let me assassinated him properly … and painfully."

Membrane frowned, though anyone who didn't know him wouldn't be able to tell with that collar covering his mouth, and flopped back into his chair reaching two fingers up to his forehead as if to stop a head ache. The ship had to shake once more before he pulled forward with a new idea, "Do you think he might fall victim to pak exhaustion with another shot or two?"

Gaz recalled the medic and shook her head, "No, they got a medic with them that knows what he'd doing."

Slamming his hand onto the chair's counsel, the graying man admitted, "Then we will have to retreat without a victory. It seems Sizz Lorr is playing captain and he knows my tactics to well for me to hold out longer than another shot or two. Will you be able to find a way back?"

Shaking her head, she stated, "No… and I don't want to. I still might be able to kill him… when he's alone. No one's noticed me so once you retreat the guards will probably go back to the outside of the room."

With that said she was about to hang up, but Membrane interjected, his voice soft, "Be careful… I can't lose another child."

And with that she hung up… she couldn't think about that broken man right now and his growing affections in his old age. She needed to be ready, but first she'd play a round or two on her game slave to stay sharp. Putting on her headphones and plugging them into the small machine she carried everywhere, Gaz smiled as she played the same round over for the thousandth time, a small part of her imagining she was still in the cafeteria, Dib blabbering next to her.

This revenge wasn't for dad… it was for her.

XXX

Paw07: I know it's been forever, but I've been far too busy for much of any writing. Nonetheless, here's a holiday treat for all of you. I nice lengthy chapter as well.

Borit: an Irken with pink eyes and is the Chief Researcher who showed up in chapter four assisting Blue with a dissection

Dimm: a rather tall and older Advisor with nearly red-black eyes, shows up in chapter six

Gritt: voritan scientist on planet Dirt which inserted Dib's pak, shows up in chapter four

Lepo: the Tallests' personal physician and the Armada's CMO, shows up in chapter seven and notices something's wrong with Blue's pak

Nave: a tall Irken Interrogations Officer who showed up in chapter two, stopping Blue from hiding in the servants' quarters

Pixen: one of Blue's Advisors who showed up in chapter three, nursed Blue back to health after Zim finished fishing in Blue's pak

Ta-Boo: one of Blue's Advisors which is the newest and shortest of the advisors, showed up in chapter five and told Blue of the Ark


End file.
